Hurricane Milton plowed into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after tearing a path of destruction across Florida, killing at least 14 people and knocking out power to millions, yet averting the “worst-case scenario” meteorologists, officials and residents had feared. Arriving just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene, the system also knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Marquardt says Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, south of the Tampa Bay area, sparing a direct hit on the area that’s home to over three million people.
