Hurricane Milton weakens as it marches across central Florida, homes destroyed

Hurricane Milton swept through central Florida on Thursday after hitting the state’s west coast earlier, causing deadly tornadoes, destroying homes, and leaving nearly 2 million people without power. The storm made landfall near Siesta Key on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 120 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

By early Thursday, wind speeds had decreased to 90 mph, downgrading Milton to a Category 1 hurricane, but it still brought heavy rain and dangerous storm surges.

The storm was about 75km west-southwest of Cape Canaveral, home to NASA’s Space Force Station. A flash flood emergency was issued for the Tampa Bay area, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, with St. Petersburg having already received 422mm of rain on Wednesday.

via Reuters

Discover more from The Dispatch

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Verified by MonsterInsights