A Milton recap - Lights out, flash flood emergencies

Milton made landfall as a major category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Fla., around 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Winds were sustained at 120 mph with higher gusts.

Major Hurricane Milton made history before it even approached the West Florida Coast. Milton reached category 5 status twice with sustained winds as high as 180 mph and pressure as low as 902 millibars. After reaching category 5 status the second time, Milton was added to the top 3 list of strongest Gulf of Mexico hurricanes on record. It is only the second category 5 Gulf hurricane to occur in October with Michael (2018) being the first since the satellite era began in 1966.

As of Thursday morning, more than 3 million customers are without power across Florida, with most counties in the central portions of the state being closer to 100 percent of customers without power. The National Weather Service in Miami, Tampa Bay and Melbourne issued their highest total tornado warnings - 98 warnings - in Florida history as Milton's outer bands produced numerous tornadoes.

Flash flood emergencies were declared in the Tampa Bay area after 10 to 16 inches of rain had poured in Thursday night. A high risk for excessive rainfall had been issued for central Florida as Milton dropped more than a foot of rainfall on already saturated soils from heavy weekend rainfall.

Additionally, Milton's destructive winds tore off the roof of Tropicana Field, the home field of the Tampa Bay Rays. A shelter had been staged here for 10,000 emergency workers.