Hurricane Milton Live Updates: ‘Don’t Visit,’ US Officials Say, Warning of Preventable Deaths

Elizabeth Rizzini
Chief weather presenter

Often the most dangerous part of a hurricane is the storm surge. This is a wall of water pushed ashore by hurricane-force winds, which can cause catastrophic flooding – especially when combined with extreme rainfall.

Even as the hurricane moves away from the East Coast, it is difficult to assess what the storm surge actually was – there are few official observation sites and the situation is still too dangerous to see with your own eyes.

However, the Weather Channel is reporting a rise of 8 feet near Sarasota and 3-6 feet further south from Naples to Port Charlotte.

The surge was highest south of landfall, while to the north, Tampa Bay unusually experienced a negative storm surge as offshore rather than onshore winds developed.

This means that the water level has actually dropped by 5 feet, and eyewitness accounts suggest that the bay has been drained.

However, some areas received as much as 18 inches of rain, with more to come. Storm surge warnings remain in effect from east-central Florida north to southern Georgia.

Image source, Reuters