Hurricane Milton downgraded to Cat. 1 as it crosses Florida Peninsula

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Hurricane Milton continued to weaken early Thursday as it made its way northeast across the Florida Peninsula after making landfall near Sarasota Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm, according to forecasters.

In its 2 a.m. EDT update, the National Hurricane Center said Milton had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph with higher gusts, making it a Category 1 storm.

The forecasters located Milton about 30 miles south-southwest of Orlando, Fla., and 45 miles west-southwest of Cape Canaveral.

Milton was fast weakening as it moved across the Florida Peninsula after making landfall near Siesta in Sarasota County at about 8:30 p.m. as a Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph.

Despite its weakening, the NHC is warning that Milton will maintain hurricane intensity while crossing Florida on Thursday morning. It was moving east-northeast at 16 mph.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Florida's west coast from Bonita Beach northward to Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay, and Florida's east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin county line up northward to Ponte Vedra Beach.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for north of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to Edisto Beach, S.C.; the Florida Keys, including the Dry Tortugas, Florida Bay and Lake Okeechobee; and Florida's east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin county line to Flamingo.

Florida's west coast from Flamingo to south of Bonita Beach and from north of the Suwanee River to Indian Pass also were subject to tropical storm warnings. So were the extreme northwester Bahamas, including Grand Bahama Island, the Abacos and Bimini.

A storm surge warning was in effect for the west coast of Florida from Flamingo northward to Yankeetown, Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay; and Florida's Sebastian Inlet to Altamaha Sound in Georgia, including the St. Johns River.

The NOAA also issued a hurricane watch for Lake Okeechobee and Florida's east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin county line to the Palm Beach/Martin county line.

On Monday, Milton's wind speeds had increased by 90 mph in less than 24 hours, reaching 180 mph. It's being called the third-fastest rapidly intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic, according to more than 40 years of National Hurricane Center data.

Central atmospheric pressure in Milton's eye had also fallen to 897 millibars (or 26.49 inches of mercury), according to Hurricane Hunter aircraft observations, which makes it the fifth lowest central pressure in the Atlantic basin hurricane in recorded history.

"This makes Milton one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic Basin and the second strongest in the Gulf only behind Hurricane Rita in 2005 (895mb)," meteorologist Dylan Federico of Dallas' KDFW-TV wrote in a Facebook post.

"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," the NHC said in a discussion on the storm late Tuesday.

Forecasters predicted Tampa Bay could see a surge of between 10 and 15 feet.

Portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys are to receive between 6 and 12 inches of rain, with some areas to receive up to 18 inches, through Thursday, raising the risk of "catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding," the NHC said.

Florida's west coast has already been hit by two hurricanes this season.

Hurricane Helene hit the coast near Perry in the Big Bend Region on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Debby struck nearby Steinhatchee as a Category 1 storm on Aug. 5.

Milton, the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is one of three churning in the Atlantic, but is the only one posing a threat to land. The other two are: Kirk, a Category 3 storm; and Leslie, which became a hurricane late Friday.