Hurricane Milton ploughs across Florida, killing four

Fortunately, it spared Tampa a direct hit.

The system tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a category three storm in Siesta Key, about 112 kilometres south of Tampa. 

Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Governor Ron DeSantis said it was not "the worst-case scenario".

The deadly storm surge feared for Tampa apparently did not materialise, though the storm dumped up to 45 centimetres of rain in some parts of the area, the governor said. 

The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 2.5 to three metres — lower than in the worst place during Helene.

"We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses," DeSantis said.

As dawn broke Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: storm-surge warnings were posted for much of the east-central Florida coast and north into Georgia. 

Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. 

Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.

"We'll let you know when it's safe to come out," Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said on Facebook.

The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St Petersburg — was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. 

It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Multiple cranes were also toppled in the storm.

The roof of Tropicana Field was torn off during Hurricane Milton, (AP PHOTO)

St Petersburg residents could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service. 

Mayor Ken Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system.

During a break in the storm, Tampa police rescued 15 people from a single-story home damaged by a fallen tree, authorities said.

Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was "absolutely staggering," according to City Manager Bill McDaniel. 

Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city received 34cm of rain.

"We have flooding in places and to levels that I've never seen, and I've lived in this community for my entire life," he said in a video posted online Thursday morning.

The storm slammed into a region still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South. 

In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton's winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage.

Officials had issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival.

Jackie Curnick said she wrestled with her decision to stay at home in Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. 

She and her husband started packing Monday to evacuate, but they struggled to find available hotel rooms, and the few they came by were too expensive.

With a two-year-old son and a baby girl due October 29, Curnick said there were too many unanswered questions if they got in the car and left: where would they sleep? 

"The thing is it's so difficult to evacuate in a peninsula," she said ahead of the storm. 

"In most other states, you can go in any direction to get out. In Florida, there are only so many roads that take you north or south."

Video taken during the storm showed howling winds and sheets of rain lashing their glass-enclosed swimming pool as their son and dog watched. Trees shook violently.

On Thursday morning, she reported that the family was without power but safe.