Category 3 Hurricane “Milton” makes landfall near Siesta Key, Florida
Hurricane “Milton” made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County along the west coast of Florida at 00:30 UTC on October 10, 2024, with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h (120 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 954 hPa, making it a Category 3 hurricane. Milton is the 13th named storm, 9th hurricane, and the 4th major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
Milton formed on October 5 near Mexico and rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on October 7 as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. Its first landfall took place in the Yucatan Peninsula at Category 5 strength.
The second landfall took place near Siesta Key (population 5 535), Florida at 00:30 UTC on October 10 (20:30 EDT, October 9) with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h (120 mph), making it a Category 3 hurricane.
The system brought life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds, and flash flooding over the central Florida peninsula.
At 03:30 UTC, the center of Hurricane “Milton” was located 120 km (75 miles) SW of Orlando and about 165 km (100 miles) WSW of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The system had maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) and minimum central pressure of 960 hPa. It was moving ENE at 26 km/h (16 mph) and this general motion is expected to continue through Thursday, followed by a turn toward the east on late Thursday.
On the forecast track, the center of Milton will continue to move across the central part of the Florida peninsula overnight (LT) and emerge off the east coast of Florida on Thursday.
Milton is forecast to maintain hurricane intensity while crossing Florida overnight. After moving into the Atlantic, Milton is expected to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken.
A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for the Tampa Bay area, including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater at 02:00 UTC (22:00 LT, October 9). NWS reported Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg has received 421.9 mm (16.61 inches) of rain before the end of the day.
As of 05:00 UTC on October 10, 2 290 300 customers across Florida were without power. This is about 5.7 million people.
Milton spawned an outbreak of tornadoes across Florida ahead of landfall, with at least 26 tornado reports submitted to the NWS Storm Prediction Center by the end of the day. Across Florida, NWS issued approximately 100 Tornado Warnings in Florida between 12:00 and 18:00 LT on October 9.
The Fort Myers region experienced severe damage as tornadoes tore through the area, impacting homes and infrastructure and resulting in multiple fatalities. In Palm Beach Gardens, extensive damage was reported, with numerous properties affected. Additionally, suspected tornadoes caused damage in Stuart, Fort Pierce, and Vero Beach.
The full extent of the tornado outbreak is still being assessed.
As of 05:00 UTC on October 6, Milton is blamed for the death of 6 people across the United States and Mexico — 5 in the U.S. and 1 in Mexico.
In Florida, the storm caused two or more deaths in St. Lucie County, two in Collier County, and one in Marion County. Additionally, one fatality was reported in the Calkiní Municipality of Campeche, Mexico.
Milton is the 13th named storm, 9th hurricane, and the 4th major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
It is the third hurricane landfall of the 2024 season in Florida after hurricanes Debby and Helene. The state has recorded three landfalling hurricanes in a single season only five times in history: 1871, 1886, 1964, 2004, and 2005, CSU meteorologist Dr. Philip Klotzbach reported.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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