AccuWeather's Tony Laubach tracked Hurricane Milton as it made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the western coast of Florida on Oct. 9
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00:00Well, for the second time in nearly two weeks, the west coast of Florida took the brunt of a major hurricane. First, it was Helene. This time, it was Milton.
00:13Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm late Wednesday evening, bringing tenacious wind, torrential rain, and more problems to an already battered area.
00:23We are on the north side of where we expect the eye to come through.
00:27Conditions deteriorated rapidly during the day on Wednesday. Here in Palmetto, south of Tampa, heavy rains were flooding streets well ahead of landfall.
00:35Winds increased as the day turned to night, gusts peaking out over 60 miles per hour, and as landfall neared, it went from bad to worse.
00:43Wind gusts over 100 miles per hour tore through Brandonton. Power flashes illuminated the skies in every direction like fireworks on the 4th of July.
00:54Only in the eye was there a moment of calm, one of the calmest eyes I personally have ever experienced, but that only lasted for so long.
01:03We slowly worked our way north on I-75 in the worst the backside of the eye had to offer.
01:08As we rolled into the suburbs of Tampa, we encountered flooded roads and wind gusts over 80 miles per hour, knocking out power and keeping everyone in the dark till the next morning.
01:17And it was only the light of the sun that illuminated the area as crews worked to get things back on.
01:22Those that hunkered down overnight came out to breathe a sigh of relief that came in the storm's wake.
01:32The cleanup from Helene wasn't even done before Milton made its presence felt, and folks will be cleaning up from both of these storms for weeks to come.
01:39Reporting for AccuWeather in Clearwater, Florida, I'm meteorologist Tony Laubach.