Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm, with winds over 100 miles per hour. It hit about 70 miles south of Tampa in Siesta Key, Florida. The storm produced multiple tornadoes. More than 2 million people lost power. Evacuation orders were in place for a total of about 7 million people across 15 Florida counties. 

Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, following Hurricanes Helene in September and Debby in August. 

Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified in the Atlantic Ocean, making it the third fastest-intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. Within one day, Milton went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane. “Rapid intensification” is when a storm increases by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours. 

It weakened to a Category 3 storm before hitting land.