Hurricane Milton live updates: Category 3 storm makes landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast
Here’s what to know about Hurricane Milton in Florida on Wednesday. This live updates report will be updated throughout the day.
Top stories from Hurricane Milton
▪ The latest on Hurricane Milton’s track: The storm, with 120 mph sustained winds, made landfall on Siesta Key just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
▪ Tornado alerts: Numerous Florida counties on tornado warning and watch, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Lee, Manatee. A tornado was spotted along Interstate 75 near Western Broward and the Miccosukee Service Plaza Wednesday morning, according to The Weather Channel.
▪ Storm surge: Hurricane Milton threatens Florida with life-threatening storm surge. West Coast braces for up to 15 feet. East Coast could get 5 feet.
KNOW MORE: Traffic alert: Florida’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge shuts down ahead of Hurricane Milton
READ MORE: The winds are coming to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Bradenton. Here are forecast speeds
Hurricane Milton makes landfall
Just before 8:30 p.m., Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm. It’s eye had been pushing ashore for hours before the official landfall call was made.
Milton’s heavy rains and winds are affecting much of Florida. As the storm tears inland, it is still forecast to retain hurricane strength. About 100 tornado warnings have already been issued earlier Wednesday, and up to 18 inches of rain is still forecast to come done.
READ MORE: Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota. Half-million already without power
Half-million Floridians without power
Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s soon landfall, over 500,000 people and business are without power across Florida. Most of those affected are in the southwest.
So far, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties have been most affected by outages, according to data collected by Find Energy from all but eight utility companies that service Florida.
Florida Power and Light President and CEO Armando Pimentel said Wednesday afternoon that the company had over 17,000 workers from over 40 states stationed.
Pimentel said it was too early to estimate how many customers would lose power, but said that customers across the state should be prepared to be affected given the size of the storm, its wind speed and the vast amount of area it is forecast to batter.
“We anticipate a challenging environment restoring power,” Pimentel said, but assured FPL was prepared to respond quickly, assess damages, and restore power when possible after the storm passes.
READ MORE: Over 500,000 Florida customers are out of power ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall
Photos: What’s it looking like in Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches?
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Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall somewhere on the Gulf Coast of Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday, Miami Herald photographers Al Diaz, Pedro Portal, D.A. Varela and Bradenton Herald’s Tiffany Tompkins shot images of storm preps, evacuations and threatening skies.
SEE MORE: Take a look at some of the scenes in Florida as the storm approaches.
Luis Fonsi postpones
“Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi has postponed his concert at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood due to Hurricane Milton. His show originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, has been rescheduled for Sunday, Dec. 22 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the original concert will be honored at the rescheduled date. If you can’t make the December date you can get refunds at the point of purchase up to the newly scheduled date.
What’s the Waffle House Index says about Hurricane Milton’s Florida landfall
The Waffle House Index acts as an indicator for people evacuating ahead of Hurricane Milton. If your local Waffle House closes, that can’t be good. The chain is posting restaurant closings in Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, Ocala and Daytona ahead of Milton’s approach.
Walt Disney World curfew
Osceola County in the Orlando-Kissimmee metro area of Central Florida issued a countywide curfew beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday and continuing through 10 a.m. Thursday, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Since all pedestrian and driving, standing or parking are prohibited during the hours this means guests staying at resort hotels within Osceola will not be allowed to leave their rooms during the curfew. This include Disney’s All-Star Resorts, the WDW News Today website reported.
Walt Disney World theme parks closed early Wednesday and are expected to remain closed Thursday.
HOTEL HELP: Here’s where you can still get a hotel room in Miami or Broward before Hurricane Milton
Milton’s affect on Florida air travel
Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach and Bradenton-Sarasota airports close as Hurricane Milton approaches. Here’s how other airports like Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood are operating Wednesday.
Social media: What Jim Cantore and other experts are saying
Gulf Coast meteorologists spoke directly to residents of storm weary Fort Myers and Tampa ahead of Milton through social media posts. “Incredible,” Jim Cantore said of the beastly Milton’s muscle.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 9:31 AM.
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