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10/10/2024
WT Staff
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October 10, 2024 620 am EDT
Widespread flooding in the wake of Milton, life-threatening rip currents in the surf zone for northeast Florida and southeast Georgia
Hurricane Milton struck Florida's Gulf Coast at Siesta Key, approximately 40 miles south of St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay around 830 pm EDT last night, arriving several hours ahead of schedule. Demonstrating the awesome power and unpredictable nature of hurricanes, several "wobbles" altered the projected course and expected site of landfall several times; an extreme level of tornadic activity spawned a record number of tornado warnings for a single day. According to Reuters, seventeen furious and short-lived tornadoes destroyed approximately 100 homes just ahead of Milton's arrival. The absolute silence and calm in the eye of the storm belied the most damaging winds that came in the tail of this hurricane, sending the inland water bodies into frenzy.
As of this update, the USGS streamflow monitoring network records 40 stations in flood stage, 31 of these are in Florida, seven are in southeast Georgia, remnants of Helene from two weeks ago. In the area of Milton's impact, Manatee River began to rise at Rye, FL around 11 am yesterday morning, on a steep rise to major flood stage, peaking briefly at 11 pm EDT, 5 ft above flood. The water level has been coming down as fast as it rose, currently in minor flood stage on its way back to normal. In northeast Florida on the path of Milton's exit from the panhandle, Deep Creek is running in major flood stage at Spuds, FL and still rising. This water body is normally two and a half feet deep, currently more than six and a half feet deep at 2950 cubic feet per second.
Surf zone forecast for northeast Florida and southeast Georgia rated High Risk, this means life-threatening rip currents are likely in the surf zone. More to follow.
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