Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a “dangerous Category 3” storm near Siesta Key, on Florida’s central west coast, the National Hurricane Center said.
Siesta Key is a barrier island located just south of Sarasota.
Milton had sustained winds of 120 mph at landfall, but its strength diminished as it moved inland.
The hurricane center warned those in the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas to shelter in place as “extremely dangerous hurricane-force winds” were spreading through the area.
Earlier in the day, the National Weather Service in Miami observed at least four twisters, including a “multi-vortex tornado,” as meteorologists reported storm surge starting to arrive along the southwestern Florida coast.
Tornado warnings were issued for multiple cities, adding to hurricane and storm surge warnings already in place for many of those same places.
After unfurling into an explosive, massive Category 5 storm with formidable winds topping 180 mph on Monday, Milton’s sustained wind speeds began to decline as the storm approached landfall. Earlier, forecasters described it as a “catastrophic” hurricane.
Serious damage and flooding were expected even after the storm weakened to a still-powerful Category 3.