Hurricane Milton weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, making landfall along Florida’s west-central Gulf Coast near Sarasota that evening.
The storm hit Siesta Key in Sarasota County around 8:30 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It was projected to cross Florida’s central peninsula overnight before emerging on the state’s east coast Thursday.
“This is an extremely life-threatening situation,” the NHC warned earlier.
CBS News Meteorologist Nikki Nolan explained that although Milton would rapidly weaken after losing access to the warm Gulf waters, it would still maintain hurricane strength until it exits into the Atlantic Ocean, where it will likely transition into a tropical storm by Thursday afternoon.
Initially reaching Category 5 strength on Monday with sustained winds of 180 mph, Milton’s rapid intensification was described by the NHC as “remarkable.” By Wednesday evening, wind speeds had declined to 120 mph as the storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
Tampa has a “reverse storm surge” right now
Since the storm swung south a bit, the wind pushes the water out of the bay
Huge turnaround from the expectation that Tampa would get city-destroying 10-15 ft storm surges just 24