Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as Category 3 (2025)

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast as a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds on Wednesday night.

The landfall point was near Siesta Key just south of Sarasota.

Milton continued to make its presence felt across the state on Wednesday night.

An extreme wind warning was issued for the Tampa-St. Petersburg area as the northern eyewall moved into the area (that warning has since expired).

The same area was also under a flash flood emergency. The National Weather Service in Tampa reported that between 10 and 14 inches of rain have fallen in some of those areas, and more rain was expected:

Power outages were adding up in Florida and were expected to climb much higher overnight:

Tthe storm will move across the Florida peninsula overnight and into Thursday morning, potentially spreading more flash flooding, wind damage and tornadoes.

The peninsula was also littered with tornado warnings on Wednesday as rain bands from the storm moved onshore, including some large tornadoes along the east coast.

As of 8 p.m. CDT Wednesday, the center of Hurricane Milton was located about 5 miles north of Sarasota, Fla., or 105 miles southwest of Orlando, and was tracking to the east-northeast at 15 mph. Milton had 115 mph winds, down from 155 mph earlier today.

The hurricane center said Milton is expected to “remain a hurricane while it moves across central Florida through Thursday.”

Milton will not directly affect the Alabama coast except for a continued high risk for rip currents through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Mobile.

Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area through early Thursday.

Storm surge is a very big concern with Milton, but the forecast has decreased a bit. The hurricane center said 9 to 13 feet of surge will be possible along parts of Florida’s west coast.

Here is the updated forecast for peak surge:

Milton could also bring 6 to 12 inches of rain to parts of Florida, which could cause flash flooding.

Here are the warnings and watches as of Wednesday:

* A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for the Florida west coast from Flamingo northward to Yankeetown, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay and Sebastian Inlet Florida to Altamaha Sound Ga., including the St. Johns River.

* A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Florida west coast from Bonita Beach northward to Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay and the Florida east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin County Line northward to Ponte Vedra Beach.

* A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for from north of Altamaha Sound, Ga., to Edisto Beach, S.C.

* A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Lake Okeechobee and the Florida east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin County Line to the Palm Beach/Martin County Line.

* A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Florida Keys, including the Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay, Lake Okeechobee, the Florida west coast from Flamingo to south of Bonita Beach, the Florida west coast from north of Suwanee River to Indian Pass, the Florida east coast south of the St. Lucie/Martin County Line to Flamingo, from north of Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida to Edisto Beach in South Carolina and the extreme northwestern Bahamas, including Grand Bahama Island, the Abacos and Bimini.