Deadly Hurricane Milton howled across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday, tearing a path of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic and knocking out power to millions yet averting the "worst case scenario" meteorologists,

Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane on Florida's west coast near Siesta Key.

The event, called a reverse storm surge, also occurred during Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Irma in 2017. As heavy winds from Milton whip from land into the Atlantic Ocean, water levels are dropping significantly, exposing a bare sandy shoreline where water usually sits.