Live Updates: Hurricane Milton hits Florida

Hurricane Milton is far from over in Florida, despite a long night of extreme winds and storm surges that caused extensive damage.

Before making landfall Wednesday evening, Milton spawned more than a dozen tornadoes, at least one of which was blamed for the storm's first fatalities.

Below are the latest updates from Florida. To read yesterday's full coverage, click here.

(7:33 a.m. ET) Pinellas County is in full shutdown

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office announces that Pinellas County is closing all access points to the county as emergency responders deal with dangerous situations. The barrier islands are also closed.

(7:18 a.m. ET) Boat washed onto road in Port Charlotte

Photos show a boat sticking out into traffic after Milton threw it onto a Port Charlotte street. Street flooding is reported in the area due to meter-high storm surges and heavy rainfall.

(6:54 a.m. ET) Pinellas County is urging all residents to shelter in place

Pinellas County is sending an emergency alert to residents and asking those still living in the county to shelter in place. This helps emergency teams respond to calls for help and repair storm damage.

“Severe damage nationwide,” the warning says. “Many roads are impassable due to downed power lines, fallen trees or debris…You must stay off the roads until county officials tell you otherwise…Stay put now.”

(6:29 a.m. ET) Rescue operations underway in the Tampa area

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is responding to calls for help in at least one neighborhood.

“Our logging crews are out cutting trees and trying to clear some of the roads,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said on the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. “There are downed power lines and trees everywhere. Please stay inside. We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out.”

(6:15 a.m. ET) St. Lucie County Sheriff: “We lost some lives”

Milton claimed lives before the hurricane even made landfall. The St. Lucie County Sheriff confirmed on WPBF 25 News that there were multiple fatalities at Spanish Lakes Country Club in Fort Pierce, where a tornado destroyed homes and buildings. The number of deaths is not yet clear.

(5:43 a.m. ET) Storm surge peaks not yet reached in northeast Florida

Although there is currently flooding in Northeast Florida, the worst is yet to come. Peak storm surge will occur this afternoon and evening along this portion of the Florida coast, the Intracoastal Waterway and the St. Johns River. Moderate to major flooding will occur in the St. Johns Basin for at least two weeks after peaking later today.

(5:25 a.m. ET) Milton breaks Tampa's monthly single-day rainfall record

Milton brought a total of 11.43 inches of rain to Tampa on Wednesday, breaking the city's single-day monthly rainfall record. The city's wettest October to date was in 1922, a month in which 10.33 inches of rain fell.

(5:18 a.m. ET) St. Johns River flooding in multiple counties

Storm surge and flooding along with heavy rainfall are overflowing the St. Johns River, causing moderate to severe flooding in portions of St. Johns Putnam and Flagler counties.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office warned people not to drive through flooding and released photos of some scenes across the county.

(​4:40 a.m. ET) Here's the latest on the crane accident

Last night, a crane crashed in downtown St. Petersburg, striking a building that houses the offices of the Tampa Bay Times. Here's what this hour is called, via the Tampa Bay Times:

-​ The crane was used for the construction of a new high-rise residential building that was being built opposite the newspaper's offices.

-​ No one was injured and no one was in any of the buildings affected by the crane collapse.

-​ The crane fell onto 1st Avenue South, completely blocking the street.

– This and two other cranes on site are said to be able to withstand winds of 110 miles per hour.

(​4:15 a.m. ET) Everyone is OK after the roof of Tropicana Field was damaged

Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, suffered extensive damage when several roof panels were torn off by Milton's strong winds last night. The building was used to house key personnel tasked with storm response, and the field was lined with hundreds of cots.

“There were no first responders stationed at Tropicana Field and the essential personnel who were there are all registered and safe,” a spokesperson for the Tampa Bay Rays told ABC News. “Teams will assess the situation more closely when it is safe to do so.”

(4 p.m. ET) Outages top 3 million

According to PowerOutage.us, more than 3 million Florida homes and businesses are in the dark. That's about one in four customers nationwide.

Not surprisingly, the counties with the largest percentage of customers in the dark are those closest to where Milton made landfall. Nearly everyone in Manatee and Sarasota counties has lost power, and in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is the county seat, there are half a million homes and businesses without power.