Hurricane Milton Spawns Deadly Tornadoes Across Florida

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Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night, causing a barrage of deadly tornadoes to spawn across the state of Florida.

The storm made landfall in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa, as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 120 mph. It weakened to a Category 1 storm early Thursday as it moved inland across the state and churned off-shore near Cape Canaveral.

It is not unusual for hurricanes to be accompanied by tornadoes, but the tornadoes that came with hurricane Milton were more intense than usual.

At least five deaths have been confirmed in St. Lucie County on the state’s Atlantic coast, where tornadoes touched down. At least two people were killed in St. Petersburg during the storm, police said. At least three people died in Volusia County, according to the sheriff. And one person is dead in Citrus County after a tree fell on their car, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Photos and videos showed homes submerged in murky floodwaters, residents attempting to evacuate on small boats, roads shredded to pieces and debris scattered in all directions.

The storm’s winds were particularly intense in Venice Beach in Sarasota County, where they reached a high of 107 mph. St. Petersburg recorded a staggering 18.31 inches of rainfall, meeting the threshold for a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event.