HURRICANE MILTON MAKES LANDFALL NEAR SARASOTA, FLORIDA… The center of the eye of Hurricane Milton has officially made landfall this evening along the west-central Gulf Coast of Florida at Siesta Key in Sarasota County, FL. Maximum winds at landfall were around 120 mph, making Milton a category 3, major hurricane at landfall. Hurricane Milton is now the 5th (yes, 5th) hurricane to make landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States this year. Extreme impacts will continue in the hours ahead across central Florida, including in areas well away from the coast further inland.
COASTAL AND INLAND IMPACTS TO CONTINUE IN/NEAR THE FLORIDA PENINSULA… This landfall moment simply marks that, a moment in time. Extreme impacts are set to continue over the next several hours into tonight and tomorrow morning across much of the Florida Peninsula, including hazardous hurricane force wind gusts. There have been 130+ tornado warnings (not a typo – 130!) in the Florida Peninsula today. That sets a record for the State of Florida as the highest number of tornado warnings issued in one day. Several of the tornadoes today have been large and significant, causing extensive damage in several communities. The current Tornado Watch in effect runs until 9PM EDT for places like Orlando, Tampa, and the Florida Keys, but I imagine a new Tornado Watch will be needed overnight. In addition to the ongoing tornado threat, extreme storm surge is set to continue along the western Gulf Coast of Florida. Storm surge will likely get worse for areas near Tampa Bay when the center of the storm is further inland. There also may be minor to moderate storm surge issues on the Atlantic side of Florida tomorrow. Flash flooding will continue to be a concern as well. Numerous Flash Flood Warnings are in effect in central Florida.
BUSY YEAR FOR GULF HURRICANES… Hurricane Milton is now the 5th (yes, 5th) hurricane to make landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States this year after Beryl, Debby, Francine, and Helene just a few weeks ago. This ties 2024 with 2005 and 2020 for the 2nd most Gulf hurricane landfalls on record, trailing only the year 1886 when 6 hurricanes made landfall. Special thanks to Dr. Philip Klotzbach with Colorado State University for posting this record/history information earlier today. Klotzbach also stated “Florida has had 3 landfalling hurricanes in 5 seasons on record: 1871, 1886, 1964, 2004, 2005, and 2024. The other two 2024 Florida landfalling hurricanes are Debby and Helene.”
QUIET WEATHER LOCALLY… No significant, direct impacts are expected due to Hurricane Milton in Alabama or northwest Florida. The rest of this week and the weekend will be sunny and dry locally with cooler temperatures expected over the next few days. There will be a high risk of rip currents and high waves at the Alabama and Florida beaches through the end of the week and perhaps into the weekend as well. Let me emphasize as well that we have no tropical trouble in the forecast for the next 6-8 days. I see nothing consistent in the model data that would point to that. Good news!
APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I will have more updates posted over the next several hours in the RedZone Weather app. My next regularly scheduled forecast video will be posted by 7:15AM tomorrow morning. Have a good Wednesday evening!