After weakening to a Category 4 the night of October 7th because of an eyewall replacement cycle, the hurricane regained Category 5 intensity over the Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of October 8th. Milton held at that strength into the morning of October 9th before increasing wind shear caused its winds to weaken on its approach to Florida.
The hurricane then made landfall south of Tampa Bay as a Category 3 at 8:30 p.m. on October 9th.
According to the Weather Channel, numerous tornadoes were spawned by Milton in southern and central Florida ahead of its landfall Wednesday. There have been at least three dozen reports of tornadoes, but the actual number of twisters won’t be known until the National Weather Service performs storm surveys.
A flash flood emergency was issued on Wednesday evening because of heavy rain in Pasco, Hillsborough, and Polk Counties, including Lakeland, Winter Haven, and Wesley Chapel. Rainfall totals in the area were estimated to be 8 to 12 inches.
Florida authorities began assessing the damage left by Hurricane Milton’s passage across the state early Thursday, as the storm passed into the Atlantic Ocean after a night of high winds, torrential rain, and storm surge, according to a report by ABC News.
Water levels rose about 8+ feet near Sarasota close to landfall Wednesday evening. A storm surge of 3 to 6 feet was been recorded from Naples to Charlotte Harbor, with more inundation likely occurring in Manatee and Sarasota counties. Water levels fell by around 5 feet at the top of Tampa Bay due to blowout winds while the mouth of Tampa Bay saw a climb in water levels by 1 to 2 feet. Naples saw a storm surge of 5.75 feet. –Weather Channel
So far, the hurricane caused the known damage of the destruction of about 125 homes, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The tornadoes on Florida’s Gulf Coast also unfortunately proved deadly. “We have lost some life,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told West Palm Beach ABC News affiliate WPBF News. Pearson did not say how many were killed, as that number is probably not likely known as of yet.
More damage is likely to be reported, but the good news is that this wasn’t as dire as the mainstream media had made it out to be. Nonetheless, loss of life is evident and loss of property and expensive damage was done in central Florida.
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