Out of florida, millions of people under threat from Monster Size Hurricane milton. That powerful Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles an hour has come ashore. The eyewall made landfall half an hour ago in siesta key, which is a Barrier Island off of the coast of sarasota. Right now, the storm with a diameter of 450 miles, is bringing lifethreatening winds and potentially devastating Storm Surge up to 13 feet. Earlier today, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, noaa, took steal drones on the gulf of mexico. They showed 40 nautical miles away from meltons eye, the winds were gusting 76 miles an hour and waves were cresting up at 28 feet high. That powerful storm is hitting land. For those not in the eyewalls direct path, there is reason to be vigilant as much of florida is under a tropical Storm Watch or warning. The national Weather Service also issued warnings in parts of south and central florida, where milton has spawned 10 tornadoes. Airports,
Hurried preparations, theres also a new worry. Limited resources. Gas stations literally running on empty, and Grocery Store shelves picked clean. Nbcs marisa is joining us from tampa. Jay gray is standing by in ft. Myers. And Meteorologist Michelle Grossman is tracking the storm for us. The track of this storm has shifted slightly since yesterday. Where do we expect landfall now . Yeah, this has kind of wobbled back and forth, ten miles north or south. As we go throughout time, we are anticipating that westcentral u. S. Coast impact on The State Of Florida. We are looking at a category 4 storm. This is catastrophic. People are going to lose homes. Theres a threat to life and property. So were going to watch this very closely, we are about 16 hours away from landfall. Were looking at winds of 155 miles per hour. Yes, it weakened to a category 4, but keep in mind a Category 5 is 157 miles per hour, so this is a very strong category 4 strong. Its heading northeast at 6 miles per hour, no
Before making landfall earlier Than expecTed TonighT in florida. ForecasT To bring up To 15 feeT of lifeThreaTening STorm Surge To some regions, up To 18 inches of rain in areas like Tampa, and caTasTrophic, susTained winds. AT This hour, parTs of florida are already feeling The effecTs as milTon grows in size and moves closer To The WesT CoasT. More Than 1 Million people are under mandaTory evacuaTion orders. Thousands are sTill fleeing The sTaTe in search of higher ground, as The window To geT ouT sTarTs To close, and resources dwindle. As of This morning, 60 of Tampa Bays Service sTaTions reporTed They are compleTely, compleTely ouT of gas. And now Tornadoes like This one in broward counTy, hundreds of miles from milTons core. This is new video of IT Crossing i75 Today. Ill speak wiTh one of floridas mayors, The One who has rode ouT a whole loT of sTorms since The mid70s in a momenT. WhaT he says milTon could do. FirsT, leT us geT To our reporTers. Joining us now, nbc News Correspon
Hi there, everyone. Its 4 00 in New York. At this hour, millions of people along Floridas Gulf Coast are bracing for one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in The Atlantic basin. The outer bands of Hurricane Milton are already hitting parts of the state. It is forecast to make landfall some time tonight between 10 00 p. M. Eastern and 2 00 a. M. And is expected to double in size before making landfall. This is the scene right now in ft. Myers, florida, being battered by high winds and rain. The top concern for officials at this moment is making sure that residents get to safety. The window for evacuating is now rapidly closing. Even as the storm is already complicating those efforts. This video shows a tornado touching down near i75 in south florida, thats hundreds of miles from Hurricane Miltons core. Just a few hours ago, president Joe Biden called Hurricane Milton, quote, the storm of the century. And made a plea to people in the Storms Path to please evacuate. First, man
You for your time. Appreciate it. That is all in on this tuesday night. Good evening, alex. What is happening in springfield, what is going on in ohio? how can the senate race be so close, but here we are. We showed you those numbers. His ability to outperform the top of the ticket in that state is one of the most remarkable anywhere in the country. Political tenacity is sherrod brown s middle name. Thank you, my friend. More than 5. 5 million people are under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders in florida tonight as the state braces for the impact of hurricane milton. Polls were waived and highway shoulders were opened to try to ease clogging as florida residents took to the roads to get out of the storm s way. Hurricane milton is expected to make landfall late tomorrow night or early thursday morning and while anything could change in the next 24 hours, milton is expected to drive straight through central florida. The first direct strike by a hurricane in areas like tampa in mor