Hurricane Milton exits Florida after causing extensive damage

TAMPA, Fla. -- Hurricane Milton has weakened and left Florida after devastating the state.

As of 8:00 Thursday morning, Milton is a category one hurricane with winds of 85 mph. 

The storm is now in the Atlantic Ocean after crossing through the Florida Peninsula overnight. 

It will stay as a hurricane into this evening before undergoing extratropical transition. 

Milton will avoid Bermuda as it heads east this weekend.

The hurricane leaves behind a lot of destruction with storm surge, flooding, and tornadoes being seen across the state.

126 tornado warnings were issued in Florida on Wednesday, which is a record for the state in a single day.

Multiple tornadoes touched down across southern Florida, with confirmed reports of fatalities near Fort Pierce, Florida.

Meanwhile, wind gusts over 100 mph were recorded near Tampa which caused the Tropicana Field roof to be blown off.

St. Petersburg saw nearly 20 inches of rain from Milton as well, which caused severe flooding. 

Storm surge of several feet was recorded along the coast near and north of Fort Myers.

Thankfully, the storm is moving away from Florida now, which will allow for recovery efforts to begin.