Hurricane Milton tracker: ‘Dangerous’ storm makes landfall

Hurricane Milton hit Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday night.

The Category 3 hurricane made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, and significant impacts are expected for the area, which includes Tampa. The most concerning part for the area is the storm surge, which could send water several feet high into the city and coast.

Another concern for the Tampa Bay area is a flash flood emergency warning that has been issued as of 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“Between 10 and 14 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is already occurring,” the National Weather Service said. “This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!”

Hurricane-force winds have also been observed in Sarasota.

STING JET with INSANE winds of 100-110 mph. Downtown Sarasota is flooded and surge is rising FAST.

Furniture and roofs flying past.
pic.twitter.com/VMH78YfNyK

Even before the hurricane made landfall, it generated a significant amount of turbulence in the state.

The storm bands preceding it generated the second-most tornado warnings a state has had since 2013 and the most on record for Florida, with 126 issued.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials asked people to follow directions from their local officials and "leave immediately" if told to evacuate from the "dangerous" storm.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) showed concern for those who didn't evacuate Wednesday night.

“People that didn’t evacuate that should’ve. We can’t take care of them now,” Scott told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on The Source.

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“I talked to sheriffs and mayors where they had tornadoes. It was a scary, scary time. We had so many tornadoes,” he said. “I could feel it in people’s voices how concerned they were.”

Milton comes not long after Hurricane Helene devastated Florida and overwhelmed states farther north, such as Tennessee and North Carolina.