Milton slammed into Florida's already storm-blasted coast Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane threatening huge swaths of Tampa Bay, Sarasota and regions still reeling from the destruction of Helene.

After making landfall in Florida with a Category 3 status, Hurricane Milton had weakened to a Category 1 storm early Thursday morning. As of 4 a.m. Eastern Time, Milton had maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and was "moving offshore" as it neared Cape Canaveral,

Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday evening along Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, unleashing powerful winds, deadly storm surge, and the threat of widespread flooding across much of the state.