Hurricane Milton Makes Landfall as Category 3 Storm as Florida Braces for More 'Catastrophic' Weather After Helene

Mar. 15, 2025

A Jeep drives through floodwaters near Smather’s Beach ahead of Hurricane Milton.Photo:CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty

Hurricane Miltonhas made landfall in Floridaas a Category 3storm.

Milton came ashore around Siesta Key, Fla. at around 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 9,according to theNational Hurricane Center. It is about five miles west of Sarasota and 115 miles southwest from Orlando.

The storm brought maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 mph. It is the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. this year.

“As Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota county, now is the time to shelter in place. First responders are staged and ready to go, as soon as weather conditions allow,” Florida Gov.Ron DeSantiswrote in a message onX, moments before the storm made landfall. “Search and rescue efforts will be well underway to save lives before dawn, and they will continue for as long as it takes.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ahead of the storm making landfall, the National Hurricane Center warned that the central and northern portions of the Florida Peninsulacan expect between 6-18 inches of rainthrough Thursday, Oct. 10.

“This rainfall brings the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding,” the agency warned.

The National Weather Service also issued at least 90 tornado warnings in Florida, the highest amount ever issued in the state in a single day, perCNN.

Empty streets in streets of downtown Orlando, Florida, on October 9, 2024, in the hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty

Although once aCategory 5 storm, Milton weakened in intensity on Wednesday, becoming a Category 4 and then a Category 3 storm.

However, in the hours before it made landfall, theNational Hurricane Centerwarned that Milton is expected to “remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida.”

The center of the storm was expected to hit “near or just south of the Tampa Bay region” before moving across " the central part of the Florida peninsula overnight, and emerge off the east coast of Florida on Thursday."

During an appearance on CNN on Monday, Oct. 7, Castor said she expects theaftermath from Miltonwill be “catastrophic.”

“This is something that I have never seen in my life,” the mayor explained while urging residents to evacuate the area ahead of the storm. “And I can tell you that anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before.”

DeSantis declared astate of emergencyfor dozens of counties before Milton made landfall. At a press conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Oct. 8, DeSantis warned the storm had the potential to leave an “indelible mark on a community,” according to theTampa Bay Times.

“We are praying for the best,” the governor said, per theTallahassee Democrat, adding, “There’s no way we’re going to get out from this in terms of not having an impact."

source: people.com