BOCA RATON, FLA. — From a devastating tornado outbreak across areas of Broward and Palm Beach Counties to a storm surge that flooded every street in Fort Myers Beach, Wednesday evening and early Thursday brought a variety of meteorological challenges to a wide swath of Florida as Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm in normally bucolic Siesta Key.
With much of Central Florida lacking electricity as the sun rose on Thursday, local radio and TV stations were offering a variety of updates from journalists and listeners themselves — offering vital updates on the aftermath of a storm unlike any other the Sunshine State has faced.
As of 10:30am Eastern, the worst of Hurricane Milton had entered the Atlantic Ocean, leaving a trail of damage that, for the most part, involved flooding and wind-impacted structural concerns.
In preparation for a near-direct hit from Milton, Gray Media-owned WWSB-7 in Sarasota relocated its news team and crew to inland Lakewood Ranch — a rapidly growing residential community to Bradenton that is home to legendary rock star Mick Jagger. From here, the WWSB news team offered nearly nonstop updates on the storm from their makeshift home.
WWSB’s offices and studios are located just blocks away from Sarasota Bay.
For top-rated local radio station WSRZ-FM 107.9, owned by iHeartRadio, simulcasts of the company’s WFLA Radio-produced “Operation Storm Watch” could be heard, with updates from Nexstar Media Group-owned WFLA-TV “NewsChannel 8” shared with listeners to the unique coverage airing in both the Tampa and Sarasota radio markets.
In Tampa, Cox Media Group‘s radio stations lost audio streaming and was still unavailable as of 10:40am Eastern. The company’s stations are located in the Windward Pointe area of St. Petersburg on 4th Street North. To keep safe across the storm, WDUV “105.5 The Dove” morning host Ann Kelly as of Wednesday morning was already in Atlanta, working from CMG’s stations in the market.
Just 1 1/2 miles to the south is the home of Beasley Media Group‘s radio stations serving Tampa-St. Petersburg, on the south side of Gandy Boulevard. There, veteran morning host Todd Schnitt, who uses his “MJ Kelli” on-air name at WRBQ “Q105” in Tampa, helmed “The MJ Show” solo live from the station.
As of 10:45am, Schnitt was still on the air taking a variety of calls from listeners across the area, sharing their first-hand accounts of the storm damage as he used his former skills as a Talk show host under his real name. Schnitt noted that upward of 18 inches of rain had fallen in parts of the Tampa Bay region.
As first shared by Dave Moore, color commentator for the Buccaneers Radio Network and a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star, a portion of the roof of Tropicana Field, where the Major League Baseball team Tampa Bay Rays play, was blown off by high winds from the storm. It is located in downtown St. Petersburg, just miles from the Beasley and CMG facilities.
To illustrate how vital radio coverage of Milton is to the Tampa-St. Petersburg region, Schnitt noted that he could not make a cell phone call via his Verizon network from the Beasley studios, while sharing that nearly all of Highlands County — home to cities such as Sebring — lacked electricity.
The view from our window as we ride out the storm. The roof of Tropicana Field is destroyed by the winds of #HurricaneMilton. Praying for Tampa Bay and all areas affected. Stay safe, everyone pic.twitter.com/uy0aNGMAuJ
— Dave Moore (@DaveMoore_83) October 10, 2024
In Orlando, FNN news alerts were heard at 10:50am on iHeartMedia’s WXXL “XL 106.7,” where Johnny’s House and morning show host Johnny Magic were live and in-studio past 10am; syndicated midday host Ryan Seacrest’s program was pre-empted for music and updates via Florida News Network.
To the northeast of the Orlando area, in Flagler County, Fla., Flagler Broadcasting‘s radio stations again proved why live and local radio is a life-saver in a time of emergency. WNZF-AM 1550 and its FM translator at 94.9 MHz spent the morning talking with local officials from Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Palm Coast, sharing important updates about the small municipalities. With TV stations in the area located in Orlando, well to the southwest, the facilities were the lone news sources to provide up-to-the minute information.
As of 9am, the situation was good, with Flagler Beach’s water and electricity working; Bunnell and Palm Coast, home to Streamline Publishing executive Tom Elmo, water conservation and lack of power were the chief concerns. This led WNZF to move ahead with the syndicated Armstrong & Getty program in middays, while its “Kool 100.9” and sibling WBHQ-FM 92.7 were offering updates in-between music.
As 11am began, cell service remained challenged as Schnitt still took calls from listeners. Simultaneously, local TV began to offer images of hard-hit Pinellas County, with WTVT “FOX 13” in Clearwater. The E.W. Scripps Co.’s WFTS-28, the ABC affiliate in Tampa, and TEGNA-owned WTSP-10 offered continuous coverage from their respective anchors.
