Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, pounding cities with ferocious winds and rain, and whipping up a barrage of tornadoes. It caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit. The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. While it caused a lot of damage and water levels may continue to rise for days, Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not “the worst case scenario.” https://www.9news.com/article/weather/hurricane/hurricane-milton-strikes-florida/507-9e0d7dc3-1328-491f-8535-6f4cb85375ed More local videos here: https://youtube.com/@9news Subscribe to NEXT: https://youtube.com/@Nexton9NEWS Stay connected: 9NEWS Website: http://www.9news.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilike9news Twitter: https://twitter.com/9NEWS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9newsdenver/ Download the 9NEWS App: https://www.9news.com/appredirect/ Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER: https://www.9news.com/email 9NEWS (KUSA) is located in Denver, Colorado.