Milton, now categorized as a post tropical cyclone, is expected to continue moving northeast off of Florida’s Atlantic coast on Friday afternoon, as recovery efforts are underway for the millions impacted by the storm. The National Hurricane Center issued its final advisory on Thursday evening, with the storm continuing to generate maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds Wednesday night before carving a path of destruction across the state, drenching coastal and inland communities with rain and storm surge as its powerful winds caused blackouts and hurled large sailboats on to front yards.
Milton spawned a deadly tornado outbreak that killed at least six in St. Lucie County on Florida’s east coast. Crews with the Nation Weather Service were expected to survey damage Friday and determine exactly how many tornadoes had formed. Across the state, the storm has been tied to at least 16 deaths.
Milton aftermath:Florida power outage map: 2.2 million in the dark as Milton enters Atlantic
Invest 93L had a chance of developing into Tropical Storm Nadine, but environmental conditions proved unfavorable.
The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring Tropical Storm Leslie in the Atlantic, although there are no coastal watches or warning in effect, and it is not predicted to land in the U.S.
At 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11, Tropical Storm Leslie was moving toward the north-northeast near 10 mph. A turn toward the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected tonight, followed by a turn toward the east-northeast over the weekend.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 50 mph with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is expected to continue today, and Leslie is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone in a day or two.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from the center.
The next Leslie advisory will be at 5 p.m. ET Friday.
Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
Christopher Cann, John Gallas, Trevor Hughes, Eric Lagatta, Anthony Robledo, Jennifer Sangalang and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Alexis Simmerman; Austin Statesman contributed to this report.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
