PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – South Florida is under a wind advisory Thursday after Hurricane Milton plowed into the west coast of the state as a Category 3 storm.
While Thursday’s winds across South Florida are expected to be below tropical storm force, the area could experience sustained winds of 20-30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.
The wind advisory is in effect until 4 p.m.
Thursday’s high is 89 degrees with a low of 74.
While South Florida was spared the worst of the storm, Milton brought misery to the west coast, which is still ravaged by Helene, pounding cities with winds of over 100 mph after producing a barrage of tornadoes, but sparing Tampa a direct hit.
The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key near Sarasota, about 70 miles south of Tampa. The situation in the Tampa area was still a major emergency as St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of flash flooding there as well as other parts of western and central Florida.
Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, appeared badly damaged. The fabric that serves as the domed stadium’s roof was ripped to shreds by the fierce winds. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Multiple cranes were also toppled in the storm, the weather service said.
St. Petersburg residents also could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service.
The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
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