The storm that brewed for weeks off the coast of Mexico finally spilled over into Southwest Florida late Wednesday.
Category 3 Hurricane Milton came across with 120 mph eyewall winds at Longboat and Siesta keys, but had spent much of the day churning up tornadoes across Florida, from Alligator Alley to the East Coast, which included fatalities.
Late Wednesday, there were no reports of injuries throughout Charlotte, DeSoto and Sarasota counties, but the situation was still underway.
POWER OUTAGES
In Sarasota County, 202,000 of FPL’s 300,000 local customers were without power. In Charlotte County, it was 50,000 out of its 139,000 and in DeSoto County, it was 3,400 out of its 18,250 as of 9:30 p.m.
Hurricane Milton brought along its storm surge overnight, putting large portions of Punta Gorda back under water Wednesday night.
In the state, hundreds of thousands of people were without power Wednesday night.
FLOODING
TV coverage showcased heavy winds and rain in Bradenton and Venice along with images from downtown Punta Gorda floodwaters.