Hurricanes in Florida

Hurricane Milton caused devastating aftermath for people all throughout Florida and its neighboring states. Milton, which at the height of its power was considered a Category Five hurricane, created heavy wind storms, excessive rain, and tornadoes. When civilians were originally notified of the hurricane's existence, it was classified as category one. Then in under ten hours it evolved into a category five storm. After that warning came into effect, public places were placed on curfew, and the overall public was generally terrified. Once the hurricane got closer, it only progressed in severity. It started raining intensely and the winds started to pick up. According to an article by AP news, the winds got up to around 75 to 90 miles per hour. There were multiple reports of tornado warnings, many of which became actual tornadoes. Tornadoes are quite uncommon in the Florida area. Overall, there were around 120 tornado warnings but only around 45 actually hit. The tornadoes were seen all around the state, ripping apart buildings, destroying power lines, and knocking over trees. While it isn’t uncommon for hurricanes to produce tornadoes, storms have seldom created them to such a degree and in so little time.

Milton ravaged the coast of Florida’s Siesta Key, and, according to an article by AP News, there were waves reaching over 20 feet in height along the shoreline. There was also a power outage that affected over 3 million homes. The power outage was caused by the wind, which ripped out countless power lines. Researchers and storm experts were initially preparing for a potentially lethal set of storm surges, but they were eventually dismissed as non-major threats once the storm made landfall.