Hurricane Milton struck Florida’s already storm-battered west coast on Wednesday evening, making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane and posing a significant threat to areas including Tampa Bay, Sarasota, and regions still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene. President Joe Biden labeled Milton “the storm of the century,” urging residents to follow evacuation orders. As the powerful hurricane made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County, tropical-storm-force winds, heavy rainfall, and tornadoes began to move inland.
Numerous news outlets and Tampa residents shared videos showing Milton’s winds tearing apart the roof of Tropicana Field, the domed stadium that houses Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays and has recently served as a base camp for the Florida Department of Emergency Management in preparation for the hurricane.
The hurricane center indicated that Milton is expected to maintain its intensity as it travels across Florida overnight. By 5 a.m. ET on Thursday, Milton’s winds had diminished to 85 mph, categorizing it as a Category 1 storm, located 10 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
By Wednesday evening, Hurricane Milton had already destroyed around 125 homes, according to Florida officials. More than 3 million homes and businesses were reported without power by early Thursday, as per USA TODAY power outage data.
