"Milton" Inundates Florida, Kills 4; 3.3 Million People Without Power

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 storm, weakening to a Category 1 as it moved across the state and then offshore, according to the National Hurricane Center, Amir Vera, Elizabeth Wolfe, Dalia Faheid, and Jessie Yeung reported for CNN.

The hurricane, the third to hit Florida this year, has left more than 3.3 million people in the state without power. I Photo: Orange County Fire Rescue Department, Florida Facebook

Milton, the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year, dropped approximately 16 inches of rain on St. Petersburg, representing a more than 1-in-1000-year rainfall event for the area.

Four deaths were reported in St. Lucie County, Florida, after a tornado struck a mobile home retirement community, as reported by Emma Tucker, Kathleen Magramo, Holly Yan, and Andy Rose for CNN.

The hurricane, the third to hit Florida this year, has left more than 3.3 million people in the state without power.

Wind gusts reached 100 mph near Tampa, where a flash flood emergency was declared, and emergency services were temporarily halted. The Tampa Bay area avoided the worst predicted storm surge as Hurricane Milton shifted southward before landfall, Governor Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning.