Watch How the News Outlets Covered Hurricane Milton

A suddenly roofless Tropicana Field. A construction crane toppling over and crashing into the Tampa Times offices. Those are some of the searing images that aired on the major networks when Hurricane Milton made landfall on the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm.

Even as coverage shifts into recovery phase, those moments will be forever associated with Milton’s devastating march across the state.

Now that the sun is up, here’s a 360-degree view of the damage Hurricane Milton caused to Tropicana Field’s roof and the inside of the ballpark. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 pic.twitter.com/ZCtPHv6rE9

— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 10, 2024

The cable and streaming news networks’ were in continuous coverage mode on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. And nothing signified Milton’s danger more than the presence of CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who was on-air for five hours from Bradenton, while chief climate correspondent Bill Weir reported from St. Petersburg. 

Both were broadcasting live when they experienced Milton’s aggressiveness firsthand. Cooper was hit with debris while standing on the boardwalk, while Weir was struck by a strong blast of wind that moved him off-screen and cost him his hat.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper hit by debris during Hurricane Milton coverage on CNN in Bradenton, Florida. pic.twitter.com/1KHoxUGek8

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) October 10, 2024

Want to know what it feels like to be inside a hurricane? Turn on @CNN. Here’s @BillWeirCNN losing his hat a few minutes ago: pic.twitter.com/EZNnpz3K6e

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 10, 2024

Meanwhile, NewsNation’s Tampa-stationed Brian Entin had an interesting vantage point to share. At the height of Milton’s landfall, he and his crew managed to capture the bay without any water.

The water has been sucked out of Tampa Bay by Milton.
Happened fast. pic.twitter.com/8ghtF5SZYx

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 10, 2024

Over on NBC News Now, senior national correspondent Tom Llamas and his crew were reporting from Sarasota when they had to seek shelter after a nearby transformer blew.

This happened when I was live with @GadiNBC on @NBCNewsNow. Two minutes earlier we were in the eye of #milton. Completely calm then suddenly the backside of the hurricane hit. A transformer blew behind us. That meant it was time to go in. Everyone okay. @NBCNews #sarasota pic.twitter.com/QikOWVsEeg

— Tom Llamas (@LlamasNBC) October 10, 2024

Llamas spoke about that frightening moment on Thursday morning during an NBC News Special Report, which aired from 6-6:10 a.m. ET.

“One minute it was calm and the next minute, the wind just suddenly picked up,” he recalled. “I didn’t see [the explosion]. I saw the flash. But the crew in front of us—I sort of saw their reaction. It was time to go in.”

ABC News’ David Muir and NBC News’ Lester Holt anchored their respective evening newscasts live from Florida on Wednesday. Holt has been in the region since Tuesday night and both he and Muir will continue to anchor live on location on Thursday.

CNN’s Brian Stelter notably singled out Fox Weather’s Hurricane Milton coverage for praise in his Reliable Sources newsletter. “Fox Weather is emerging as a serious rival to The Weather Channel,” he wrote in the Thursday edition. “The three-year-old network was just as compelling as The Weather Channel, if not more so.”  

The network previously allowed TVNewser a peek behind the scenes during Hurricane Helene’s landfall two weeks ago.

Included in the newsletter:

We’re here and we’re only going to get better @foxweather https://t.co/2g2xTgQCfc pic.twitter.com/X0vZ5kkkRB

— Greg Diamond (@gdimeweather) October 10, 2024