Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm with 120 mile per hour winds.
The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.
The storm is expected to subsequently move off the east coast of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday afternoon.
There are more than 1,549,000 million customers without power across Florida after Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm, according to poweroutage.us.
Hurricane Milton made landfall around 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, Florida.
The National Weather Service Doppler radar data indicated Milton made landfall in Sarasota County along the west coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds.
An estimated 125 homes have been destroyed amid a "life-threatening" tornado outbreak ahead of Milton's landfall, according to Kevin Guthrie, the head of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Florida's east coast has had "a lot of tornadic activity" that has resulted in structural damage, he said during a press briefing Wednesday evening.
Based on preliminary information, about 125 homes have been destroyed, "most of them mobile homes and senior communities," he said.
"So we're trying to get into Florida's most vulnerable to make sure we're they're taken care of," he added.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there have been 116 tornado warnings issued on Wednesday, with 19 confirmed touchdowns.
The northern eyewall of Hurricane Milton has come ashore in Florida with 120 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center said.
"The northern eyewall of Hurricane Milton is beginning to move onshore of the Florida gulf coast near Tampa and St. Petersburg where an Extreme Wind Warning is now in effect. Please shelter in place as these extremely dangerous hurricane-force winds overspread the region," the NHC warned.
Pasco County Fire Rescue in Tampa has suspended all emergency service response in the area as Milton nears landfall, with officials saying, "It's no longer safe for high-profile rescue vehicles to be on the road."
"If you're in danger, please call 911 and provide details of your situation. We're constantly monitoring weather conditions and emergency crews will respond as soon as it is safe to do so," officials said.
