Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds, a deadly storm surge and flooding to much of Florida after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.Watch live coverage from Orlando sister station WESH in the video player above.It weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moved through Florida early Thursday. Power outages were widespread. It caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.What to knowHurricane Milton made landfall around 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm.First Milton deaths: Four people were killed in St. Lucie County following multiple tornadoes touching down in the area head of Milton.More than 3 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida Thursday morning.The hurricane was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it moved through Florida later Wednesday night. Milton was downgraded early Thursday morning to a Category 1 hurricane. The system is forecast to keep its hurricane status until exiting the east coast of Florida on Thursday afternoon. Here’s the latest on Milton as the storm approaches (all times eastern): 9:55 a.m.Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche said in a video statement on social media that the damage from Hurricane Milton doesn’t appear as bad as initially feared, and the search and rescue operations are underway.”My ask is please don’t rush home right now, we’re still trying to assess what’s going on,” Troche said. “We still have downed power lines; we still have trees in the roadway.”The city of Sarasota said in a statement that residents are urged to continue to shelter in place as the storm surge is expected through Thursday afternoon and to conserve water because of numerous broken water lines in the city.9:40 a.m.President Joe Biden has been briefed on the initial impacts of Hurricane Milton.Biden was briefed early Thursday by Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.The White House said Biden will hold another briefing on the federal response to the storm, and the role the Pentagon and the Coast Guard are playing in disaster response.Vice President Kamala Harris will join that briefing by videoconference from Las Vegas, where she is holding campaign events.9:15 a.m. The Tampa airport is repairing “minimal damage” and should reopen Friday – a day after Hurricane Milton slammed into the West Coast of Florida.Gov. Ron DeSantis also said at a Thursday briefing that ocean ports will likely be able to resume operations “very quickly.”DeSantis was speaking at the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.DeSantis said the state has not officially confirmed any fatalities, but “that does not mean there has not been any,” he said. He said he’s aware of reports of fatalities associated with tornadoes on the eastern side of the state.9 a.m. As the run rose Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: Storm surge warnings were issued for much of the east-central coast of Florida and northward into Georgia, and tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.8:50 a.m. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Hurricane Milton was a significant storm but not “the worst case scenario.”He told reporters that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet — less than in the worst place during Helene.“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” he said. “The storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario.”Water levels in many Florida rivers are forecast to continue rising, he said. Because of the amount of water flooding happen not just now but in the subsequent days, he said.8 a.m. At 8 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said Milton’s winds were holding at 85 mph — a Category 1 storm — as it was approaching the Atlantic.7:55 a.m. St. Lucie County officials confirmed four people were killed in tornadoes in the area ahead of Milton’s landfall. The fatalities were reported in the Spanish Lakes Country Club within the Spanish Lakes Community in northern Fort Pierce.Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, more than 160 tornado warnings were issued for south Florida on Wednesday, and more than a dozen tornadoes touched down throughout the day.7:30 a.m.Tampa police officers rescued 15 people from a one-story home that was damaged when a tree fell as Hurricane Milton was passing through.“The swift actions taken by these officers during a break in the storm bands provided this family with a sense of safety in a time of fear and uncertainty,” Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw said.The residents were taken to a nearby shelter as bands from the hurricane were still passing through Tampa. No one was injured.7 a.m.In Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, the local sheriff’s office noted that many roads were either under water or blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines or other debris.Some areas in Lee County had 3 feet of water covering roads.A draw bridge just east of Matlacha, where about 600 people live on a barrier island, is partially blocked by a house, sheriff’s officials said. The Matlacha area was also devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022.6:45 a.m. The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to arrive to London later than expected Friday because of Hurricane Milton, the team confirmed ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.A team spokesperson said the team’s departure time has been “slightly” delayed.6:30 a.m. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has started rescue operations in at least one neighborhood.“Our teams are on the ground, moving people to safety,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a post that crews have been responding to calls since early Thursday.“Our cut teams are out cutting trees, trying to open up some of the roadways. There are downed powerlines and trees everywhere. Please stay indoors. We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out,” he said.Officials in hard-hit Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, also are urging residents to stay where they are.6:15 a.m. In Sarasota County, “first-in” emergency crews were reporting downed power lines and trees in roadways, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post early Thursday.Some bridges in the county were not passable after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, a barrier island off Sarasota. The sheriff’s office urged residents and business owners to stay off the roads to allow emergency and utility crews time to work.“The storm may have passed but it is still dangerous to be traveling this morning,” the sheriff’s office said.5:45 a.m. As the storm barreled northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, all hurricane and tropical storm warnings were discontinued for the state’s west coast.Storm surge warnings remained in effect for parts of the Florida west coast, and along the state’s east coast to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings were also in effect for much of the state’s east-central coast.5:30 a.m. Hurricane-force winds snapped trees and sent them into homes throughout the night. Officials in Marion County told sister station WESH one resident is “a very lucky woman” after a tree went all the way through her ceiling and stopped just above her bed while she was asleep. 5 a.m.By 5 a.m. Thursday, Milton was moving off of Florida’s east coast while still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall. Milton is currently 10 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. It was moving northeast at 18 mph.4:15 a.m.Hurricane Milton’s destruction across central Florida has left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power. Click here for an interactive map of outagesEnergy companies serve more than 11.5 million customer accounts across the state, according to the website.A growing number of people were without electricity as Milton’s high sustained winds, powerful gusts and intense rain continued into the early morning hours.Counties along the western coast of the peninsula, including Hardee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Manatee counties, were hardest hit by the outages.4 a.m.The National Hurricane Center said strong winds have spread along the east coast of Florida as the center of Milton nears Cape Canaveral. As Milton moves off the east coast, officials say the system will lose its tropical characteristics and slowly weaken.3:45 a.m. At this time, it’s unclear how many people were killed as Milton barreled from one coast to the other.According to sister station WPBF, officials confirmed that multiple people were killed in a St. Lucie County tornado spawned by Milton. The monster system sparked hundreds of tornado warnings across the state on Wednesday and Thursday. 3:15 a.m.Milton’s winds dropped to 85 mph, making it a Category 1 storm, with a minimum central pressure of 977 mb.Milton is about 30 miles east-southeast of Orlando.2:25 a.m.The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 2.6 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.1:40 a.m.The National Weather Service says the storm’s maximum sustained wind speed was 90 mph at about 1 a.m. Thursday as it passed east of Lakeland, Florida, on its way across the central peninsula.The weather service uses something called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to estimate potential property damage caused by a hurricane’s sustained wind speed. A Category 1 hurricane is considered to have very dangerous winds that topple shallow-rooted trees, snap tree limbs and damage the exterior of well-constructed frame homes. They can also cause extensive damage to power lines.Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall Wednesday evening. That rating means devastating damage is expected to occur, including roofs torn from well-constructed homes, trees uprooted, and electricity and water systems unavailable for days to weeks.High wind speeds are not the only dangers caused by hurricanes. Hurricane Milton spawned several devastating tornadoes that wreaked havoc on Florida communities Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rainfall and storm surges also caused dangerous flooding in some coastal areas.1 a.m.The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph as it hovered near Fort Meade, about 45 miles east of Tampa, early Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said.The hurricane was expected to continue traveling mostly eastward until it enters the Atlantic Ocean sometime late Thursday, the weather service said. The damaging winds were accompanied by heavy rainfall, and the weather service issued a flash flood emergency statement for portions of west-central Florida. Flash flood emergency statements generally mean life-threatening catastrophic water rising events are already underway or expected to occur in the immediate future.St. Petersburg officials warned residents that a broken water main forced the city to temporarily shut off its drinking water service at midnight. The city said residents should boil any water used for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth until the system is restored.12:35 a.m. The National Weather Service says it has received reports of multiple collapsed cranes due to high winds in St. Petersburg, about 50 miles south of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall.St. Petersburg Fire Rescue confirmed one collapse late Wednesday about six blocks from the city’s pier. There were no reports of injuries.The crane was at the site of a 515-foot-tall luxury high-rise building under construction that is being billed as one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of Florida. It was scheduled to be completed in summer 2025.12 a.m., ThursdayOver 2 million customers lost power as Hurricane Milton cut a path through central Florida late Wednesday, according to the website PowerOutages.us.Energy companies serve more than 11.5 million customer accounts statewide, according to the website. The number of people left without electricity continued to grow as hurricane-spawned tornados, sustained tropical winds and flooding inundated the region.Nearly 100% of customers in Hardee County were without power, and people in Sarasota, Manatee and Pinella counties were also hit hard by outages.Video below: Transformer explodes, sending out sparks as Hurricane Milton hits Tampa11:30 p.m.High winds from Hurricane Milton have ripped the roof off of Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, sister stations WESH and WBBH reported.Video captured Wednesday night shows high winds tear apart the roof of the St. Petersburg, Florida stadium.The roof is made of a polymer material lighter than glass. Video shows the remnants flapping in the wind. There were only essential personnel inside the ballpark Wednesday night, all of them safe and accounted for, the Rays said. 11:25 p.m.Hurricane Milton will continue to bring “devastating rains and damaging winds” across the central Florida peninsula throughout Thursday before exiting the state late in the day for the Atlantic Ocean, the National Weather Service said.The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service, and storm surge warnings were in effect for parts of Florida’s western and eastern coastlines.The weather service said Boca Grande, Florida, could see a surge as high as 13 feet above ground if it hits at the same time as high tide.The service also said tornadoes were possible through early Thursday morning over parts of central and eastern Florida.Video below: The Caloosahatchee River pushes inland causing intense flooding as roads begin to disappear in Fort Myers10:40 p.m.More than 1.5 million power customers in Florida were left in the dark Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton battered the state with tornadoes, flooding and strong winds.Counties along the western coast of the peninsula were hardest hit, particularly in the central portion of the state. Nearly all of the roughly 9,600 Peace River Electric Coop customers in Hardee County were without power shortly after 10 p.m., according to the website PowerOutage.us.Outage numbers were climbing throughout the evening but still have not yet reached the totals seen when Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022. That storm affected more than 4.45 million power customers over several days in four states, according to PowerOutage.us, impacting more than 9.6 million people in all.10:20 p.m.About 90 minutes after making landfall Wednesday night, Milton was centered about 20 miles northeast of Sarasota, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported. It was moving east-northeast at 16 mph.The storm had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.Video below: Florida’s Lee County Sheriff’s Office shared videos from deputies as they encounter flooding and storm surgeThe storm was no less dangerous, however; the National Weather Service also issued a rare flash flood emergency statement for the Tampa Bay area, including the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.The emergency announcement means the weather service believes extremely heavy rain is leading to a severe threat to human lives and that catastrophic damage from a flash flood is either already happening or will happen soon. They are typically made when emergency officials report life-threatening water level rises resulting in rescues or evacuations.Video below: Wind and rain from Hurricane Milton batter the streets of St. Petersburg10 p.m.Wind gusts as high as 102 miles per hour were reported at a Tampa Bay-area fishing pier as Hurricane Milton pummeled Florida Wednesday night, the National Hurricane Center said.The tropical cyclone was bringing life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding along with the extreme winds, the hurricane center said.Video below: Nighttime video shows storm surge, palm leaves blowing sideways in Fort MeyersThe weather said the hurricane sustained winds of 115 mph as the center of the storm passed near the town of Sarasota, making the storm still a Category 3.9:45 p.m.Officials say search and rescue efforts are underway in Florida after dangerous tornadoes ripped through the region.About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane made landfall, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson posted a video to Facebook showing a 10,000 square-foot iron building that had been twisted into a crumpled heap by a tornado. The structure was where the sheriff’s office kept its patrol cars, but luckily no one was inside when it fell, Pearson said.9:20 p.m. Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key in Sarasota County Wednesday evening. Milton brought powerful winds, deadly storm surges, and flooding on Wednesday along much of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center says Milton was fueled by an extremely warm Gulf of Mexico. It was expected to remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida peninsula Thursday before emerging in the Atlantic Ocean.9 p.m.Power outages continued to spread across Florida Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton ripped through the state.More than 1 million customers were without power shortly after 9 p.m. according to PowerOutages.us. Many of the outages were focused along the peninsula’s western coast and in a pathway through the center of the state, where multiple tornadoes had formed in the hurricane’s rain band. 8:35 p.m.Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm.8:30 p.m.St. Lucie County officials in Florida confirmed to sister station WPBF that there are multiple fatalities following tornadoes in the area.The fatalities were reported in the Spanish Lakes Country Club within the Spanish Lakes Community in northern Fort Pierce. Officials told WPBF that multiple tornadoes touched down in the Spanish Lakes community, and that search and rescue crews are on their way. Deputies and firefighters are going through the rubble in the community.Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, more than 160 tornado warnings were issued for South Florida on Wednesday, and more than a dozen tornadoes touched down throughout the day.This is a developing story. 8:15 p.m.Here’s a look at a reported 28-foot wave inside Hurricane Milton, captured by a NOAA Saildrone. The Associated Press, WESH, WBBH, WPBF and CNN contributed to this story.

TAMPA, Fla. —

Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds, a deadly storm surge and flooding to much of Florida after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.

Watch live coverage from Orlando sister station WESH in the video player above.

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It weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moved through Florida early Thursday. Power outages were widespread. It caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.

What to know

• Hurricane Milton made landfall around 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm.
• First Milton deaths: Four people were killed in St. Lucie County following multiple tornadoes touching down in the area head of Milton.
• More than 3 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida Thursday morning.
• The hurricane was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it moved through Florida later Wednesday night. Milton was downgraded early Thursday morning to a Category 1 hurricane.
• The system is forecast to keep its hurricane status until exiting the east coast of Florida on Thursday afternoon.

Here’s the latest on Milton as the storm approaches (all times eastern):

9:55 a.m.

Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche said in a video statement on social media that the damage from Hurricane Milton doesn’t appear as bad as initially feared, and the search and rescue operations are underway.

“My ask is please don’t rush home right now, we’re still trying to assess what’s going on,” Troche said. “We still have downed power lines; we still have trees in the roadway.”

The city of Sarasota said in a statement that residents are urged to continue to shelter in place as the storm surge is expected through Thursday afternoon and to conserve water because of numerous broken water lines in the city.

9:40 a.m.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the initial impacts of Hurricane Milton.

Biden was briefed early Thursday by Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

The White House said Biden will hold another briefing on the federal response to the storm, and the role the Pentagon and the Coast Guard are playing in disaster response.

Vice President Kamala Harris will join that briefing by videoconference from Las Vegas, where she is holding campaign events.

9:15 a.m.

The Tampa airport is repairing “minimal damage” and should reopen Friday – a day after Hurricane Milton slammed into the West Coast of Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis also said at a Thursday briefing that ocean ports will likely be able to resume operations “very quickly.”

DeSantis was speaking at the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

DeSantis said the state has not officially confirmed any fatalities, but “that does not mean there has not been any,” he said. He said he’s aware of reports of fatalities associated with tornadoes on the eastern side of the state.

9 a.m.

As the run rose Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: Storm surge warnings were issued for much of the east-central coast of Florida and northward into Georgia, and tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.

8:50 a.m.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Hurricane Milton was a significant storm but not “the worst case scenario.”

He told reporters that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet — less than in the worst place during Helene.

“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” he said. “The storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario.”

Water levels in many Florida rivers are forecast to continue rising, he said. Because of the amount of water flooding happen not just now but in the subsequent days, he said.

8 a.m.

At 8 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said Milton’s winds were holding at 85 mph — a Category 1 storm — as it was approaching the Atlantic.

7:55 a.m.

St. Lucie County officials confirmed four people were killed in tornadoes in the area ahead of Milton’s landfall. The fatalities were reported in the Spanish Lakes Country Club within the Spanish Lakes Community in northern Fort Pierce.

Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, more than 160 tornado warnings were issued for south Florida on Wednesday, and more than a dozen tornadoes touched down throughout the day.

7:30 a.m.

Tampa police officers rescued 15 people from a one-story home that was damaged when a tree fell as Hurricane Milton was passing through.

“The swift actions taken by these officers during a break in the storm bands provided this family with a sense of safety in a time of fear and uncertainty,” Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw said.

The residents were taken to a nearby shelter as bands from the hurricane were still passing through Tampa. No one was injured.

7 a.m.

In Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, the local sheriff’s office noted that many roads were either under water or blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines or other debris.

Some areas in Lee County had 3 feet of water covering roads.

A draw bridge just east of Matlacha, where about 600 people live on a barrier island, is partially blocked by a house, sheriff’s officials said. The Matlacha area was also devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

6:45 a.m.

The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to arrive to London later than expected Friday because of Hurricane Milton, the team confirmed ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.

A team spokesperson said the team’s departure time has been “slightly” delayed.

6:30 a.m.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has started rescue operations in at least one neighborhood.

“Our teams are on the ground, moving people to safety,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.

Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a post that crews have been responding to calls since early Thursday.

“Our cut teams are out cutting trees, trying to open up some of the roadways. There are downed powerlines and trees everywhere. Please stay indoors. We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out,” he said.

Officials in hard-hit Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, also are urging residents to stay where they are.

6:15 a.m.

In Sarasota County, “first-in” emergency crews were reporting downed power lines and trees in roadways, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post early Thursday.

Some bridges in the county were not passable after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, a barrier island off Sarasota. The sheriff’s office urged residents and business owners to stay off the roads to allow emergency and utility crews time to work.

“The storm may have passed but it is still dangerous to be traveling this morning,” the sheriff’s office said.

5:45 a.m.

As the storm barreled northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, all hurricane and tropical storm warnings were discontinued for the state’s west coast.

Storm surge warnings remained in effect for parts of the Florida west coast, and along the state’s east coast to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings were also in effect for much of the state’s east-central coast.

5:30 a.m.

Hurricane-force winds snapped trees and sent them into homes throughout the night. Officials in Marion County told sister station WESH one resident is “a very lucky woman” after a tree went all the way through her ceiling and stopped just above her bed while she was asleep.

5 a.m.

By 5 a.m. Thursday, Milton was moving off of Florida’s east coast while still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall. Milton is currently 10 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. It was moving northeast at 18 mph.

4:15 a.m.

Hurricane Milton’s destruction across central Florida has left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power. Click here for an interactive map of outages

Energy companies serve more than 11.5 million customer accounts across the state, according to the website.

A growing number of people were without electricity as Milton’s high sustained winds, powerful gusts and intense rain continued into the early morning hours.

Counties along the western coast of the peninsula, including Hardee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Manatee counties, were hardest hit by the outages.

4 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center said strong winds have spread along the east coast of Florida as the center of Milton nears Cape Canaveral. As Milton moves off the east coast, officials say the system will lose its tropical characteristics and slowly weaken.

3:45 a.m.

At this time, it’s unclear how many people were killed as Milton barreled from one coast to the other.

According to sister station WPBF, officials confirmed that multiple people were killed in a St. Lucie County tornado spawned by Milton. The monster system sparked hundreds of tornado warnings across the state on Wednesday and Thursday.

3:15 a.m.

Milton’s winds dropped to 85 mph, making it a Category 1 storm, with a minimum central pressure of 977 mb.

Milton is about 30 miles east-southeast of Orlando.

2:25 a.m.

The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 2.6 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

1:40 a.m.

The National Weather Service says the storm’s maximum sustained wind speed was 90 mph at about 1 a.m. Thursday as it passed east of Lakeland, Florida, on its way across the central peninsula.

The weather service uses something called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to estimate potential property damage caused by a hurricane’s sustained wind speed. A Category 1 hurricane is considered to have very dangerous winds that topple shallow-rooted trees, snap tree limbs and damage the exterior of well-constructed frame homes. They can also cause extensive damage to power lines.

Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall Wednesday evening. That rating means devastating damage is expected to occur, including roofs torn from well-constructed homes, trees uprooted, and electricity and water systems unavailable for days to weeks.

High wind speeds are not the only dangers caused by hurricanes. Hurricane Milton spawned several devastating tornadoes that wreaked havoc on Florida communities Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rainfall and storm surges also caused dangerous flooding in some coastal areas.

1 a.m.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph as it hovered near Fort Meade, about 45 miles east of Tampa, early Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said.

The hurricane was expected to continue traveling mostly eastward until it enters the Atlantic Ocean sometime late Thursday, the weather service said.

The damaging winds were accompanied by heavy rainfall, and the weather service issued a flash flood emergency statement for portions of west-central Florida. Flash flood emergency statements generally mean life-threatening catastrophic water rising events are already underway or expected to occur in the immediate future.

St. Petersburg officials warned residents that a broken water main forced the city to temporarily shut off its drinking water service at midnight. The city said residents should boil any water used for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth until the system is restored.

12:35 a.m.

The National Weather Service says it has received reports of multiple collapsed cranes due to high winds in St. Petersburg, about 50 miles south of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue confirmed one collapse late Wednesday about six blocks from the city’s pier. There were no reports of injuries.

The crane was at the site of a 515-foot-tall luxury high-rise building under construction that is being billed as one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of Florida. It was scheduled to be completed in summer 2025.

12 a.m., Thursday

Over 2 million customers lost power as Hurricane Milton cut a path through central Florida late Wednesday, according to the website PowerOutages.us.

Energy companies serve more than 11.5 million customer accounts statewide, according to the website. The number of people left without electricity continued to grow as hurricane-spawned tornados, sustained tropical winds and flooding inundated the region.

Nearly 100% of customers in Hardee County were without power, and people in Sarasota, Manatee and Pinella counties were also hit hard by outages.

Video below: Transformer explodes, sending out sparks as Hurricane Milton hits Tampa

11:30 p.m.

High winds from Hurricane Milton have ripped the roof off of Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, sister stations WESH and WBBH reported.

Video captured Wednesday night shows high winds tear apart the roof of the St. Petersburg, Florida stadium.

The roof is made of a polymer material lighter than glass. Video shows the remnants flapping in the wind.

There were only essential personnel inside the ballpark Wednesday night, all of them safe and accounted for, the Rays said.

11:25 p.m.

Hurricane Milton will continue to bring “devastating rains and damaging winds” across the central Florida peninsula throughout Thursday before exiting the state late in the day for the Atlantic Ocean, the National Weather Service said.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service, and storm surge warnings were in effect for parts of Florida’s western and eastern coastlines.

The weather service said Boca Grande, Florida, could see a surge as high as 13 feet above ground if it hits at the same time as high tide.

The service also said tornadoes were possible through early Thursday morning over parts of central and eastern Florida.

Video below: The Caloosahatchee River pushes inland causing intense flooding as roads begin to disappear in Fort Myers

10:40 p.m.

More than 1.5 million power customers in Florida were left in the dark Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton battered the state with tornadoes, flooding and strong winds.

Counties along the western coast of the peninsula were hardest hit, particularly in the central portion of the state. Nearly all of the roughly 9,600 Peace River Electric Coop customers in Hardee County were without power shortly after 10 p.m., according to the website PowerOutage.us.

Outage numbers were climbing throughout the evening but still have not yet reached the totals seen when Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022. That storm affected more than 4.45 million power customers over several days in four states, according to PowerOutage.us, impacting more than 9.6 million people in all.

10:20 p.m.

About 90 minutes after making landfall Wednesday night, Milton was centered about 20 miles northeast of Sarasota, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported. It was moving east-northeast at 16 mph.

The storm had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.

Video below: Florida’s Lee County Sheriff’s Office shared videos from deputies as they encounter flooding and storm surge

The storm was no less dangerous, however; the National Weather Service also issued a rare flash flood emergency statement for the Tampa Bay area, including the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

The emergency announcement means the weather service believes extremely heavy rain is leading to a severe threat to human lives and that catastrophic damage from a flash flood is either already happening or will happen soon. They are typically made when emergency officials report life-threatening water level rises resulting in rescues or evacuations.

Video below: Wind and rain from Hurricane Milton batter the streets of St. Petersburg

10 p.m.

Wind gusts as high as 102 miles per hour were reported at a Tampa Bay-area fishing pier as Hurricane Milton pummeled Florida Wednesday night, the National Hurricane Center said.

The tropical cyclone was bringing life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding along with the extreme winds, the hurricane center said.

Video below: Nighttime video shows storm surge, palm leaves blowing sideways in Fort Meyers

The weather said the hurricane sustained winds of 115 mph as the center of the storm passed near the town of Sarasota, making the storm still a Category 3.

9:45 p.m.

Officials say search and rescue efforts are underway in Florida after dangerous tornadoes ripped through the region.

About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane made landfall, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson posted a video to Facebook showing a 10,000 square-foot iron building that had been twisted into a crumpled heap by a tornado. The structure was where the sheriff’s office kept its patrol cars, but luckily no one was inside when it fell, Pearson said.

9:20 p.m.

Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key in Sarasota County Wednesday evening.

Milton brought powerful winds, deadly storm surges, and flooding on Wednesday along much of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The National Hurricane Center says Milton was fueled by an extremely warm Gulf of Mexico. It was expected to remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida peninsula Thursday before emerging in the Atlantic Ocean.

9 p.m.

Power outages continued to spread across Florida Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton ripped through the state.

More than 1 million customers were without power shortly after 9 p.m. according to PowerOutages.us. Many of the outages were focused along the peninsula’s western coast and in a pathway through the center of the state, where multiple tornadoes had formed in the hurricane’s rain band.

8:35 p.m.

Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm.

8:30 p.m.

St. Lucie County officials in Florida confirmed to sister station WPBF that there are multiple fatalities following tornadoes in the area.

The fatalities were reported in the Spanish Lakes Country Club within the Spanish Lakes Community in northern Fort Pierce.

Officials told WPBF that multiple tornadoes touched down in the Spanish Lakes community, and that search and rescue crews are on their way. Deputies and firefighters are going through the rubble in the community.

Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, more than 160 tornado warnings were issued for South Florida on Wednesday, and more than a dozen tornadoes touched down throughout the day.

This is a developing story.

8:15 p.m.

Here’s a look at a reported 28-foot wave inside Hurricane Milton, captured by a NOAA Saildrone.

The Associated Press, WESH, WBBH, WPBF and CNN contributed to this story.

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