Editor's Note: Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida. Click here for the latest on power outages in the state.
Nearly two million Floridians are without power after Hurricane Milton hit the Sunshine State late Wednesday less than two weeks since Hurricane Helene's devastation.
Over 1.901 million outages have been reported in Florida as of 11 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to the USA TODAY power outage tracker.
More than 380,000 homes and businesses in Pinellas County and over 247,000 in Sarasota County are left in the dark, data shows. Over 172,000 outages have been reported in Manatee County and over 272,000 Hillsborough County.
You can follow the latest outage numbers per county using the map embed below.
"As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida’s west coast, Duke Energy Florida is urging its customers to prepare for this catastrophic storm and a lengthy power restoration process that will result in extended outages," Duke Energy stated on its website, which provides electricity to 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Live hurricane updates:Milton spinning up tornadoes as storm moves closer to Florida
On Monday, the company said it would mobilize around 10,000 responders to prepare for the high amount of outages its customers could face, potentially over a million. Similarly, Florida Power and Light Company, FPL, prepositioned a workforce of 14,500 people to address power outages after the storm.
"Based on the current track, Hurricane Milton will impact the most populated areas of our service territory," said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida's storm director, in a statement. "Despite extensive system improvements and rigorous tree trimming, the strong winds and flooding will cause power outages. Customers should expect significant damage and make immediate preparations for extended power outage durations."
Florida power outage map
Hurricane force winds and tropical storm winds could hit areas around the state of Florida, Rick Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told USA TODAY, which means cities and counties that aren't in the center of the storm's path could still be affected by power outages.
"Because of Milton’s size, it will have wide-reaching impacts across the state," FPL stated.
What to do (or not to do) during and after the storm
How to prepare for a power outage
How do I report or check on power outages?
Check your utility bill for contact information. Some common power companies in Florida are:
Who is prioritized during outages?
Once power outages begin, restoration efforts will be launched in force wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. But restoration may run into problems left over from Hurricane Helene.
Power restoration will be prioritized to restore power to the largest number of customers as quickly as possible. According to FPL, priorities are given to:
Contributing: Gabe Hauari, Anthony Robledo, Eric Lagatta John Bacon, Trevor Hughes, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Christopher Cann, Michael Loria, Thao Nguyen, Samantha Neely, Jennifer Sangalang, Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]