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

Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm.

Milton came ashore around Siesta Key, Fla. at around 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 9, according to the National 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 DeSantis wrote in a message on X, 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."

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Ahead of the storm making landfall, the National Hurricane Center warned that the central and northern portions of the Florida Peninsula can expect between 6-18 inches of rain through 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, per CNN.

Although once a Category 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, the National Hurricane Center warned 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."

Many of the areas in Milton’s path were just hit by Hurricane Helene, which Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said brought about six feet of storm surge to the city.

During an appearance on CNN on Monday, Oct. 7, Castor said she expects the aftermath from Milton will 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 a state of emergency for 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 the Tampa Bay Times.

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