Milton downgraded to category 3 hurricane Hurricane Milton was downgraded to a category 3 storm with winds of 125mph on Wednesday afternoon as it moved closer to Florida, but forecasters warn that it remained a grave threat. The storm has fluctuated in strength – on Tuesday it intensified to a category 5 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center has said that regardless Milton would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late on Wednesday. Officials have urged and pleaded with residents to evacuate inland, warning they will die if they stay behind. A Florida resident, Robert Haight, described his experience during a tornado that “sucked the whole roof off” his home on Wednesday. Haight, who lives in Fort Myers, Florida, was inside his home with his family when the tornado struck. “I saw the tornado coming and I called my wife ... It started to hit trees and we all started going for the hallway, we didn’t even make it there on time,” he told AccuWeather. “I heard a piece of glass crack and it sucked the whole roof off and I felt the thing suck me up and I grabbed my kid and my wife and hunkered down.” At least seven tornadoes had hit Florida by Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service reported. Hurricanes and tropical storms can produce tornadoes. The Weather Channel has provided a harrowing simulation of what Florida’s west coast could expect to see from the destructive storm surge during Hurricane Milton. “At 3ft above normally dry ground, water is already life-threatening. It is too late to evacuate,” said Stephanie Abrams, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel. “Water this high can knock you off your feet, make cars float and driving impossible.” The water is expected to rise even higher than that, she added. “At 6ft, above the height of most people, vehicles get carried away, structures start to fail,” Abrams said. “The scary part is some areas could see surge values at 10 to 15ft.” Seven tornadoes hit Florida by Wednesday afternoon At least seven tornadoes had hit Florida by Wednesday afternoon as the state was preparing for Milton to make landfall, the National Weather Service office in Miami reported. By 3pm on Wednesday, the NWS had issued 53 tornado warnings. Hurricane Milton: what we know so far As Hurricane Milton is downgraded to a category 3 storm, so here’s a summary of what has happened today so far: Joe Biden called Milton the “storm of the century” in a White House press briefing on Wednesday. Milton, which the US president declared a national emergency, is expected to make landfall tonight on Florida’s west coast near Manatee county, according to the National Weather Service. Despite Milton not making landfall yet, Floridians are already feeling its effects. Heavy rain has begun battering parts of central and south-west Florida, leaving destruction in its wake. Tornadoes also formed in the state as a result of Milton. A tornado was captured on video tearing through Fort Meyers, crossing over the major I-75 highway as cars were still driving. The national weather service told those in the area to seek shelter immediately. A tornado watch is in place until 9pm ET. The Tampa mayor, Jane Castor, said she had never seen evacuations of this magnitude before, but said the city and state would overcome this. She also stressed that anyone in a single-story home who was not evacuating was risking their life, warning “that home that you’re in ultimately will be a coffin”. Castor also bluntly told residents that if they remained in an evacuation area, “you’re going to die”. The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, held a press conference on Wednesday morning where he said Hurricane Milton would “pack a major, major punch and do a lot of damage”. He denied there were fuel shortages despite some gas stations running out. He added: “We are prepared and we will respond.” Milton downgraded to category 3 hurricane Hurricane Milton was downgraded to a category 3 storm with winds of 125mph on Wednesday afternoon as it moved closer to Florida, but forecasters warn that it remained a grave threat. The storm has fluctuated in strength – on Tuesday it intensified to a category 5 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center has said that regardless Milton would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late on Wednesday. Officials have urged and pleaded with residents to evacuate inland, warning they will die if they stay behind. Julius Constantine Motal Homeless people seek shelter in Florida ahead of Milton’s arrival: Dashcam footage shows wind and heavy rain lashing the Matlacha coast, flinging debris across roads and bending trees. Docked fishing boats swayed in rough waters, while empty streets reflected the urgency of evacuation orders. Motorists battled heavy rain, with many opting to leave as the storm’s intensity increased. Local residents, still recovering from Hurricane Helene just weeks earlier, braced for what could be another devastating blow. Zoos and aquariums in the vulnerable parts of the state remain closed and workers there have been taking steps to protect the animals during what could be the biggest storm surge they have ever experienced. Nine African penguins from the Florida aquarium in downtown Tampa were moved to higher ground ahead of Hurricane. Sloths were also (slowly) evacuated. At ZooTampa, safety measures are in place for its nearly 1,300 animals. Animals of varying sizes like African elephants and rhinos were herded into shelters. Chompers the porcupine was baited into entering a crate with carrotts and strawberries so he could be transported somewhere safer. “We hope they suffer as little stress as possible, that’s always our goal”, the zoo’s director, Tiffany Burns, said. Heavy rains lashing towns along Florida"s west coast Heavy rains have been lashing towns and cities in Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida. Latest images show broken utility poles, boats struggling to stay upright in choppy seas and lashing rains pending palm trees. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene and the approaching Hurricane Milton in the US south-east has left residents once again scrambling for ways to fortify their homes or, in extreme cases, to find sanctuary elsewhere. But the cost of doing so is burdensome at best and devastating at worst. Alexandra Marcella, a resident of Sarasota, Florida, had a baby two weeks ago. Along with her newborn, toddler and husband, Marcella left home to stay with her in-laws to ride out the storm. “Literally the day after we got home from the hospital, Helene hit. We got very lucky with that, and did not have any damage from the storm surge, but our area got totally decimated,” Marcella, a schoolteacher, said. Knowing the risk that comes with living in her area, Marcella said she and her husband invested in a new roof in 2021 and category 5 hurricane-proof windows. But she remains worried. Alligators are able to detect the approach of a hurricane and usually find shelter they can move in and out easily, in caves or burrows under mud or a canal. But they may become as scattered as humans and alligator attacks during a hurricane do occur. During Hurricane Ida in 2021, a man was attacked near the city of Slidell close to Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The alligator took the man’s arm off. His wife went for help but he had disappeared in the flood waters aby the time she returned. If you do encounter an alligator, whether in a hurricane or otherwise, run fast and straight ahead. Do not zig-zag. Best to avoid them altogether. If they start hissing, you’re too close. “The possibility of encountering an alligator is slim, and the possibility of an alligator attack is even slighter. In the grand scheme of a hurricane, both you and the alligator have bigger things to worry about,” says law firm Kanner & Pintaluga. While officials were stressing Hurricane Milton’s risk to life in swaths of Florida, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, still had its doors open for part of Wednesday. As we reported earlier, the various parks within the massive entertainment resort complex will undergo a staggered closing schedule on Wednesday. Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom theme park were due to close at 1pm ET on Wednesday while the Magic Kingdom park, EPCOT and Disney Springs was due to close at 2pm.The resort said it will “likely” close on Thursday. On Wednesday, visitors could be seen arriving at Walt Disney World while the storm barreled towards the state: