At a Glance
- Some Tampa Bay area barrier islands are a ghost town as evacuees fled ahead of Milton.
- The storm is spawning multiple tornadoes.
- With many stores closed, some people made a last-minute scramble for supplies.
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Hurricane Milton is bearing down on Florida's West Coast, bringing with it a halt to fire and emergency services, growing power outages, rising storm surge, dangerous winds and a slew of tornado warnings across the state.
Earlier, emergency management officials warned residents that time was running out to prepare their homes or to get out of mandatory evacuation zones.
Many communities stop responding to emergency calls when winds hit a certain threshold, often around 40 mph or tropical storm strength. Emergency services in places like Anna Maria Island, on the south side of Tampa Bay, stopped hours ago. That means anyone who needs medical attention or rescue now has to wait until the storm passes.
(MORE: Hurricane Milton Tracker | Lastest Forecast For Milton)
Milton is forecast to make landfall tonight into early tomorrow morning. Storm surge is already covering streets in parts of Southwest Florida and there are multiple reports of power lines down across the state.
Here are the latest updates as Hurricane Milton barrels toward landfall in Florida:
(6:41 p.m. ET) Tornado Damage At St. Lucie Sheriff's Office
Video shared to social media shows what the poster says is damage to a Sheriff's Office facility in St. Lucie County, on Florida's East Coast. A rash of tornadoes and severe weather has been reported across the Florida Peninsula ahead of Milton's landfall on the West Coast.
(6:34 p.m. ET) Pinellas County: Shelter In Place
Residents in Pinellas County just got an emergency alert telling them to "Shelter in place NOW."
Key notes from the alert:
-First responders are now off the roads.
-Wind gusts above 50 mph.
-Settle into a safe place and stay put.
(6:16 p.m. ET) No Water In Parts Of St. Petersburg
People in parts of St. Pete are being told to limit water usage, including showers, sinks and toilets. A social media update from the city said the city turned off power at two sewer treatment plants in order to protect employees and equipment from storm surge.
(6:04 p.m. ET) Where's Jim Cantore?
The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore is live in Charlotte Harbor, where storm surge is starting to spread into waterfront parking garages and into streets.
The town is in Charlotte County, about 70 miles south of Tampa.
(5:24 p.m. ET) Power Outages Soar
More than 125,000 homes, businesses and other utility customers are without electricity in Florida, according to PowerOutage.us. The outages are in several counties on both sides of the state. Here's a look at the numbers:
-St. Lucie with 20,516
-Indian River with 17,699
-Hillsborough with 16,604
-Pinellas with 17,797
-Manatee with 11,933
-Lee with 10,410
(5:04 p.m. ET) Milton's Latest Track
Hurricane Milton is about 60 miles west southwest of Sarasota, according to the National Hurricane Center's just-released 5 p.m. update. The storm is moving northeast at about 17 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph
(4:42 p.m. ET) Milton Gets Bigger
From weather.com meteorologist Danielle Banks:
Milton is growing in size, which means more people will feel the storm’s impacts. Tropical storm force winds or higher stretch about 250 miles across.
Winds higher than 110 mph are possible in the Tampa Bay area and points south down to around Naples. Winds greater than 74 mph are possible across Central Florida to the state's East Coast.
(4:23 p.m. ET) Winds Near 70 MPH
A wind gust of 68 mph was already reported in Fort Myers Beach, about 90 miles south of Tampa Bay.
(3:59 p.m. ET) What's The Difference Between A Tornado Warning And A Tornado Watch?
With Hurricane Milton spawning tornadoes ahead of landfall, it's important to know the meaning of a tornado warning vs. a tornado watch. Simply put, a tornado warning means it's time to take action. A tornado has been seen or indicated on radar and it's time to move to shelter.
A watch means conditions make a tornado possible. It should be considered a heads-up to pay closer attention to the weather.
The National Weather Service had this to say about tornadoes so far today:
"It was really difficult to capture just how many cells have been spinning and capable of producing tornadoes"
(3:46 p.m. ET) Power Outages Begin In Florida
Milton is already taking power away from some customers in Florida. More than 70,700 outages are reported in the state, according to PowerOutage.us.
About 9,500 of those outages are located in Hillsborough County. Another 8,500 are centralized in Lee County and 8,000 in Manatee County.
(2:57 p.m. ET) Images Show Damage From Apparent Tornado In Cape Coral
A 7-11 convenience store sustained damage after an apparent tornado in Cape Coral. Photos show a knocked over ice machine and a damaged awning.
For more photos, click through our slideshow here.
(2:45 p.m. ET) Major Tampa Bay Bridges Closed
Major arteries into and out of Tampa Bay's largest cities are now closed. The state Department of Transportation announced about an hour ago that the Sunshine Skyway, the Howard Frankland Bridge, Gandy Causeway and Courtney Campbell Causeway are all shut down.
(2:31 p.m. ET) Sarasota County Issues Somber Warning To Those Who Didn't Evacuate
Erick J. Arroyo, commissioner from District 3 in Sarasota, says people who plan to stay in mandatory evacuation zones should write their names on their bodies with markers for identification purposes. The dire warning is clear: Those who aren’t evacuating are in danger.
(2:17 p.m. ET) Hurricane Milton Could Be 10th Major Hurricane In Less Than 10 Years
Milton will likely strike Florida as a major hurricane. That would make it the 10th Category 3 hurricane or higher to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast since 2017.
The deadly and destructive streak started with Hurricane Harvey's landfall near the Texas Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, 2017. The most recent was Hurricane Helene, which caused damage up Florida's Gulf Coast before making landfall in the state's Big Bend region.
These storms have caused damages tallying up to more than $450 billion and caused the deaths of at least 550 people, according to weather.com meteorologist Jennifer Gray.
Read her full write-up here.
(1:50 p.m. ET) St. Pete Residents Flee Milton: 'We're Very Scared'
St. Petersburg, Florida, was hit hard by Helene two weeks ago. Many residents there are now fleeing Milton.
“With Helene, we had about 6 feet of water inside our home, and they're predicting the surge to be about 10 to 15 feet, which is twice as much as Helene. So it's going to be tough to come back to," Karina Kobil, who drove to Miami with her family, told The Associated Press.
"And we're very scared about what's going to happen with our home. And my mom is on permanent oxygen. So we were fearful that we were going to lose power for too many days. And that's why we drove down here."
(WATCH: St. Petersburg Family Flees To Miami)
(1:31 p.m. ET) Milton's Storm Surge Starts To Hit Southwest Florida
A webcam at the Naples Pier showed water washing high up onto the beach about 45 minutes ago, even though it was low tide. Tide gauges showed levels were about 1.5 feet above normal at the time.
(1:12 p.m. ET) Nearly Every School District In Florida Closed Today
Forty-six of Florida's 67 county school districts are closed today. Most also plan to remain closed tomorrow and some have already announced closures for Friday, too.
The list of school closures includes five of the 10 largest school districts in the nation. Those are Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange and Palm Beach counties.
(1:06 p.m. ET) National Weather Service Confirms Four Tornadoes In Miami Area
The tornadoes were located near the Miccosukee Service Plaza along I-75, I-75 mile marker 30, SR-80 in Clewiston and in Lakeport.
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There was another potential tornado in Florida City/Homestead.
From weather.com senior meteorologist Chris Dolce: “Tornadoes often occur with hurricanes approaching landfall, especially in rain bands on the right side, or in this case east side, of where the circulation center is tracking.”
Read more here about today's tornadoes so far.
(12:58 p.m. ET) More Than 1,500 Florida Flights Canceled Today
Several major airports in Florida are closed, resulting in hundreds of canceled arrivals and departures. Closures include airports in Orlando and the Tampa Bay area.
Among the most impacted airlines according to FlightAware.com are Southwest, American, Delta, JetBlue and United.
(12:18 p.m.) Florida Residents Wonder: Is Publix Open Today?
If you still need supplies, the hunt to find them needs to start now. Stores and businesses are closed in areas across the state.
That includes Publix, the state’s largest grocery chain. About 500 of the 871 Publix stores in Florida are closed or operating on modified hours today and possibly through at least tomorrow.
Many Target stores are also closed. Walmart lists some stores open even in areas in the storm’s path.
(11:31 a.m. ET) NWS: “Particularly Dangerous Situation” West Of Clewiston
The NWS in Miami confirmed a large and dangerous tornado west of Clewiston, labeling it a “particularly dangerous situation.”
People nearby are urged to take cover. “You are in a life-threatening situation. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible,” NWS warned.
(11:17 a.m. ET) Florida Shelters Housing Only A Fraction Of Total Capacity
Florida has opened 149 emergency shelters with the capacity to house nearly 200,000 people. However, only about 31,000 evacuees are currently sheltering at these locations.
Gov. DeSantis is still urging residents to evacuate, saying there is still a little time for people to get to a safe place.
“The roads and interstates, they are flowing,” he said in a morning press conference. “But the best option would probably be just to evacuate within your own county to one of the shelters.”
(11:03 a.m. ET) Tornado Crosses I-75 In Florida
NWS Miami posted on X that a tornado was crossing I-75 shortly after 10 a.m. “Seek shelter NOW!” NWS urged. The twister was near the Miccosukee Service Plaza.
Another tornado was confirmed near the town of Weston. A tornado watch is issued for virtually all of South Florida until 9 p.m. EDT.
(10:11 a.m. ET) Pinellas County: “Get Out Now”
Pinellas County is texting residents warning about the dangers of Milton.
“GET OUT NOW. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET OUT BEFORE THE STORM,” the mass text read. It continued: “Deadly storm surge expected.”
Mandatory evacuations are in effect for zones A, B and C in the county, as well as all mobile homes.
Evacuees and residents can find shelter info, storm resources and sign up for alerts like this by visiting disaster.pinellas.gov.
(9:43 a.m. ET) Milton’s Rain Is Getting Started In Florida
Rain is already spreading across parts of Florida well ahead of Milton’s landfall. Photos show dark clouds and wet streets in Tampa and South Pasadena.
The hurricane is expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of rainfall, with catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding to the central and northern Florida Peninsula
(9:25 a.m. ET) 22.8% Of Florida Gas Stations Out Of Gas
GasBuddy data reports that 22.8% of Florida’s gas stations are out of gas. The largest percentage of outages is in the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas, where more than 46% of gas stations are out of gas.
GasBuddy.com has a Gas Station Outage Tracker focused on the storm, and Florida drivers can find gas by state and city through the website.
(8:56 a.m. ET) Price Gouging Complaints Surge
Florida’s Office of The Attorney General has received more than 200 complaints about price gouging as residents evacuate. Most of the complaints are about the price of fuel and water, and the top three areas of concern are Pinellas, Hillsborough and Highlands counties, Kylie Mason, spokesperson for the state’s attorney general said.
Other callers are reporting the prices of overnight accommodations, including an Airbnb listing for a “room in Tallahassee” priced at nearly $6,000 per night.
The Tampa area had the most reports of price gouging during Hurricane Helene, 10 Tampa Bay reported, and the state is deciding to crack down during Milton.
Excessive increases in the price of essential items such as food, water, gasoline, lumber, hotel rooms and safety equipment are against the law during a storm-related state of emergency. Citizens are encouraged to report instances of suspected price gouging to Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline.
(8:25 a.m. ET) More Than 5.5 Million Ordered To Evacuate
Millions of residents in areas vulnerable to Milton’s wrath, such as Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers are under mandatory evacuation orders. Tampa residents were advised to be in a safe place by 7 a.m. before the worst of Milton’s rains, winds and storm surge take hold.
The mass exodus slowed highway traffic to a crawl Monday and Tuesday. Officials are waiving toll fees, have set up additional fueling stations and recommended evacuees not travel further inland than necessary to try to free up evacuation routes, but roadways still saw 150% of normal traffic Monday, state officials said.
(7:30 a.m. ET) Extreme Flood Danger For Millions
It's not just Florida's west coast – a "high risk" of flash flooding has been issued for areas all the way to the Atlantic coast through tomorrow morning. Some areas in the red shading could see more than a month's worth of rain from Hurricane Milton.
(7 a.m. ET) Key Things To Know At This Hour
The National Weather Service's Tampa Bay office mentioned these key tidbits in its 7 a.m. briefing:
- The track of Hurricane Milton continues to be a worst-case scenario for the Tampa Bay region southward to Charlotte.
- Confidence is increasing that landfall will take place somewhere in the Tampa Bay region south to Sarasota as a Category 4 storm.
- Negative surge can occur north of the landfall location, but the average forecast error at this time is 40 miles and this is why values have not lowered as much around Tampa Bay.
(6:45 a.m. ET) Tornado Threat Rising For South Florida
Well ahead of landfall, Milton is sending moisture into South Florida, and the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center warns that a few tornadoes could be spawned. Residents in this area should activate severe weather alerts on their smartphone and have at least one other way to receive alerts, too.
(6:30 a.m. ET) Evacuees Injured In Crash Of Small Plane
Three people were injured when a small plane crashed into Tampa Bay Tuesday after taking off from Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg.
The three, plus one other person and a dog onboard, were evacuating ahead of Milton, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The dog and the other passengers were rescued by a good Samaritan, about 500 feet offshore.
The six-passenger plane sank to the bottom of the bay.
(6:15 a.m. ET) Here's What Milton Looks Like From Space
NOAA's GOES-16 satellite captured this jaw-dropping image of Hurricane Milton late last night, and the storm largely looks the same this morning, only a little closer to Florida:
(6 a.m. ET) Police Department Moves Thousands Of Pieces Of Evidence
Members of the Bradenton Police Department spent Tuesday moving 41,000 pieces of evidence from their headquarters, which sits adjacent to the Manatee River on the south side of Tampa Bay.
They also moved equipment and records from their building.
“These items are secured off-site, with 24-7 security. No matter what Milton brings, we can ensure our community that we won’t miss a beat,” a social media post from the department read.
(5:45 a.m. ET) Florida East Coast Hospital Closing Ahead Of Milton
Cape Canaveral Hospital in Brevard County is closing and evacuating at 11 a.m. today.
The area is across the state from where Milton’s worst impacts are expected, but it sits on a narrow causeway between two barrier islands. Because of its location, the hospital is often evacuated when hurricanes are a threat.
At least 16 other Florida hospitals are also evacuating.
(5:30 a.m. ET) Resetting The Scene From Overnight
Milton remains a "catastrophic" Category 5 hurricane as of the 5 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained winds are 160 mph, and despite some slight wobbles in the storm's track, it remains on a path of destruction for Florida's west coast, including the Tampa area.
The storm surge forecast remains 10-15 feet from Tampa Bay into areas just south of there.
"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," said the NHC in its forecast discussion this morning.
Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.