Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida near Siesta Key, a barrier island town in Sarasota County, on the evening of October 9, 2024, around 8:30 PM EDT. At landfall, Milton was a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of about 120 mph (195 km/h)
. Milton was an extremely powerful storm that had reached Category 5 intensity over the Gulf of Mexico before weakening slightly prior to landfall. It caused widespread damage across Florida, including severe flooding, tornado outbreaks, and power outages affecting over 3 million homes and buildings. The hurricane also led to significant infrastructure damage, such as roof losses at airports and buildings, and caused multiple fatalities in several counties including St. Lucie, Volusia, Pinellas, Citrus, Polk, Orange, Hillsborough, and Charlotte
. This hurricane struck less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene had impacted Florida's Big Bend region, compounding the state's recovery challenges
