Hurricane Milton was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds close to 155 mph as of 8 a.m. ET Wednesday.
Hurricane Milton is now a Category 4 storm as it churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida.
The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.
The storm is expected to make landfall along Florida’s west-central coast as a Category 3 storm late Wednesday or early Thursday, subsequently moving off the east coast of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday afternoon.
44,000 customers in Florida now without power
Power outages are climbing even before Milton makes landfall, with more than 44,000 customers in Florida now without power.
There are more than 8,000 customers without power in Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral; and more than 8,000 in Manatee County, home to Bradenton.
Nearly 8,000 customers are without power in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa. More than 3,000 are without power in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
At least 6 tornadoes confirmed
At least six tornadoes have been confirmed across South Florida so far.
One tornado was spotted crossing Interstate 75 in Glades County.
Officials say small plane carrying people trying to evacuate crashes into Tampa Bay
Fire officials say four passengers aboard a small airplane were trying to evacuate from Hurricane Milton when the aircraft crashed into Tampa Bay on Tuesday morning.
Three of the four passengers on the Piper Cherokee were hospitalized after the crash near Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, said Ashlie Handy, a spokesperson for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.
The passengers and one dog traveling with them were rescued from the water by a good Samaritan in a boat, Handy told The Tampa Bay Times. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.
President Biden, VP Harris, top federal officials warn that Milton could cause historic devastation
“It’s looking like the storm of the century,” Biden said during a Wednesday briefing.
Although evacuating can be difficult, he urged residents to listen to local officials, calling it “literally a matter of life and death.”
The briefing, which was held at the White House complex, was intended to highlight safety concerns and demonstrate that the administration was prepared for Milton.
“Many of you I know are tough, and you’ve ridden out these hurricanes before,” Harris said. “This one is going to be different.”