By , Ivan Cabrera
/ CBS Miami
CBS News Live
MIAMI - Windy conditions continue across South Florida on Thursday as Hurricane Milton moves off the state's east coast after making landfall near Siesta Key, near Sarasota, on Wednesday night with sustained winds of 120 mph.
The National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. advisory shows Milton was packing maximum sustained winds of 85 mph as it moves off the coast near Cape Canaveral. On the forecast track, the center of Milton will move away from Florida and to the north of the Bahamas on Thursday.
The tropical storm warning for all of the Florida Keys and from the Palm Beach-Broward County line southward has been discontinued. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Florida's east coast south of the St. Lucie/Martin County line to the Broward/Palm Beach County line.
South Florida experienced strong winds of 30 to 40 mph Wednesday, which are expected to continue through Thursday.
Airports report delays and cancelations
Hurricane Milton has affected flights at South Florida airports.
Cancellations and delays were reported at Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International.
At Miami International, 148 flights were canceled and 27 were delayed early Thursday morning. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, 11 flights were delayed and 56 were canceled.
On Wednesday, nearly 2,000 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled, according to the tracking service FlightAware. That includes over 380 flights canceled at Tampa International Airport which is closed.
Milton's impact on South Florida
Hurricane Milton spun at least two tornadoes in South Florida on Wednesday.
A tornado touched down along Alligator Alley in western Broward County near Collier County, though no damage was reported.
Another tornado touched down in the Wellington area of Palm Beach County, causing damage to some homes and bringing down trees.
All of South Florida had been under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Wednesday. Several tornado warnings had also been issued for Broward County.
Strong winds brought down a power line in Broward County near NE 28 Street in Wilton Manors.
When will conditions improve?
"By late Thursday, things will begin to wind down," said CBS News Miami chief meteorologist Ivan Cabrera. "Conditions will improve into Friday, and we're looking forward to a quiet and tranquil pattern setting up for the weekend and into next week."
On Friday, there will be a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. It will be cloudy with a 20% chance of rain in the day and 20% at night, according to NWS.
North winds will be around 14 mph with gusts as high as 23 mph during the day, and north winds of 10 to 13 mph with gusts as high as 22 will be seen at night.
Highs are expected to be near 86 and lows around 75.
Dangerous storm surge forecast for Florida
Forecasters warned of dangerous storm surge.
"The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the south of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves," the hurricane center said.
"Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches, with localized totals up to 18 inches, are expected across central to northern portions of the Florida Peninsula through Thursday," the hurricane center said.
"This rainfall brings the risk of considerable flash, urban and areal flooding, along with the potential for moderate to major river flooding."
Milton will also produce rainfall totals 2 to 4 inches across the Florida Keys through Thursday.
Mauricio Maldonado is a digital editor for CBS Miami and has been a digital journalist in the South Florida area since 1997. Mauricio started at the Miami Herald in 1990 and transitioned over to their online team in 1997. In 2001, he moved north to lend his talents to SunSentinel.com, where he spent 17 years. Mauricio has been with CBS Miami since 2018.