Storm Weakened But Still Brought 120-mph Winds to St. Petersburg Area
Hurricane Milton’s devastating path across Florida has left at least 10 dead, millions without power, and destroyed homes and crops, as authorities warn it could take days to assess the full extent of the damages.
Milton delivered a quick, hard blow to the center of the state, tearing across the peninsula in just a few hours before racing back out to sea. The storm surge that swamped Florida’s west coast on Wednesday was about half as high as forecasters had feared. Landing just outside Sarasota, Milton’s 120 mile per hour winds (193 kilometers per hour) even pushed water out of Tampa Bay and into the Gulf, rather than inundating surrounding cities.
Instead, much of the worst damage — a crane tossed into a St. Petersburg building, the shredded roof of the Tropicana Field sports stadium — came from wind rather than water.
The » Read More
