Around 3.2 million Florida households are without power after Milton caused "significant flooding and damaging winds" to wreck many highly populated areas in and around Tampa, Orlando and elsewhere, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The storm gained speed as it approached landfall and was quick to leave Florida after ravaging everything in its path. At landfall in Siesta Key, Milton had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
After Milton left Florida, NHC warned that a life-threatening storm surge was still in play along Florida's eastern-central coast going all the way up into southern Georgia. Heavy rainfall also battered the area with moisture, not to mention the dozens of tornadoes that spawned out of the storm all across Florida.
In St. Petersburg, more than 18 inches of rain dropped in a very short period of time, making Milton a more than one-in-1,000-year rainfall event for the area. The damage was so severe that a water main broke, causing household taps to have to be shut off.
According to reports, Milton was expected to be the worst hurricane to hit the Tampa area in more than a century. Many people tried to flee but were unable to due to a lack of available gasoline throughout the state.
(Related: Did you know that more than a quarter of Florida's gas stations ran out of fuel ahead of Milton's arrival?)
Tampa Bay spared from worst-case storm surge
Milton was a strange one in that it started off very small before quickly picking up speed and intensity. It went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in a day or two before calming down slightly to a Category 3 at landfall.
There were concerns that the eye of Milton would hit just north of Tampa Bay, which would have resulted in massive storm surge flooding. Because the storm hit slightly to the south of Tampa Bay, the wind direction was opposite, resulting in water being drawn out of Tampa Bay rather than into it as the storm approached.
After Milton made landfall late on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis told people in its path to just "hunker down" because by that point it was already too late to try to leave.
More than 100 tornado warnings were issued in the hours before Milton made landfall when its outer bands were widening and stretching across the state, including down in the southeastern Miami region. At least 125 homes were destroyed before Milton even made landfall.
At least 12 people are dead from Milton, five of whom were killed by tornadoes that spawned in St. Lucie County. More casualties are expected as cleanup progresses.
There are also reports that the roof of Tropicana Field was ripped off by the storm. Tropicana Field had been set up as a makeshift shelter for first responders, but the cloth-like roof material was easily ripped to shreds by Milton, causing the first responders to have to move elsewhere.
As of this writing, about 70 percent of Pinellas County (Clearwater, Largo and St. Petersburg) is still without power.
"This will be a lengthy restoration," said Jeff Baker of Duke Energy at a news conference, warning that some residents could be without power for a week or even longer.
As for the tap water situation in St. Petersburg, Mayor Kenneth T. Welch announced on Thursday that there were 30 water line breaks caused by the storm but that tap water access had been restored. Residents are still encouraged to boil the water before drinking it or brushing their teeth, but Welch says people can still shower in it right out of the tap.
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