The powerful hurricane ripped through central Florida on Thursday after making landfall on the state’s west coast hours earlier, whipping up deadly tornadoes, destroying homes, and knocking out power to nearly 2 million customers.

Across the Tampa Bay area, wind-driven debris ripped off roofs and walls as lightning illuminated the sky and explosions of transformers thundered through the night. Thousands fled their homes as authorities warned that even the slightest shift in Milton’s track could bring “catastrophic damage” and life-threatening flooding.

A Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall on Wednesday near Siesta Key, Milton weakened to a Category 2 as it moved across the state’s center, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph) near Sarasota.

As the storm approached, federal disaster officials asked Floridians to follow local emergency managers’ instructions for evacuations and sheltering in place. A large swath of the state’s west coast is expected to be struck, including Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties, where residents heeded warnings to evacuate ahead of the storm’s arrival.

By late afternoon, Milton was churning through the state’s interior with hurricane-force winds of up to 110 mph, and the National Weather Service warned of “devastating rains and dangerous winds” for the region as it continued to traverse the Florida peninsula toward the Atlantic Ocean.

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A hurricane watch remains in effect for the western portion of the state, including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, as well as the Bradenton and Palmetto areas in Manatee County. A flash flood emergency is in effect for much of the same area, with high tides bringing in waters that could be 12-15 feet deep in some places.

As Milton passed over the peninsula, its wind speeds dropped, but forecasters said the powerful storm would maintain hurricane intensity throughout the day. They said it could weaken to a tropical storm as it moves into the Atlantic later in the day, but even after that, it will bring “devastating rains and damaging winds” across the state.

Hundreds of flights within, into, or out of the United States were canceled, with most of the disruptions occurring in Florida, where airports closed ahead of the storm. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines offered travel waivers for affected customers, allowing them to rebook without incurring additional fees.

As the storm churned through the Florida peninsula, government workers and volunteers worked to clean up debris left behind by last month’s Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people and caused $10.5 billion in insured losses. In Florida’s heavily populated Tampa Bay area, officials warned of dangerous flooding in areas prone to storm surge and wind-driven debris.

In Tampa, strong winds ripped off signs, tearing off parts of a downtown building’s brick facade. They tossed traffic lights and sent plywood meant to shield motorists from the storm scudding across wet roads. A crane at the Tropicana Field baseball stadium collapsed into a building, and in the city’s downtown, high winds ripped off part of a construction barricade.