Hurricane Milton thankfully spared Tampa a direct hit, even as it arrived in Florida on Wednesday, bringing winds of over 160 kph (100 mph). Before Milton it made landfall though, it caused a series of devastating tornadoes across the state. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and some residents killed, as reported by The Washington post.
St. Petersburg recorded as much as 41 centimeters (16 inches) of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to warn that there could be flash flooding there and also in other parts of western and central Florida.
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.
More than 2 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, with the highest number of outages experienced in Hardee, Sarasota and Manatee counties.
The National Hurricane Center said that "Milton’s center will move across central Florida, maintaining hurricane intensity, before emerging off Florida’s east coast at sunrise when it will start to gradually weaken."
CNN, The Washington Post, AP and The Times of Israel contributed to this article.
