Clay Today will test your knowledge weekly and provide interesting facts on various topics. This week, the strongest hurricanes in Florida history. Florida braced for Hurricane Milton, and for good reason. Sustained winds surpassed 180 mph two days before landfall as it aimed its fury toward the Tampa Bay area late Wednesday night or early Thursday. The storm had such catastrophic potential that evacuations were ordered along the West Coast and Daytona Beach on the East Coast. Residents in Clay County were issued a Hurricane Warning on Monday afternoon. There’s still hope Milton will fall short of making Florida’s strongest top 10 hurricane list. Two weeks ago, Helene made the list at No. 1 with sustained winds of 140 mph winds at landfall. The 1926 storm in Miami, the 1928 storm in Okeechobee and the 1960 Donna are tied for No. 7 with 145 mph winds, followed by the 1919 Florida Keys storm, Charley in 2004 and Ian in 2022 at 150 mph. Hurricane Michael in 2018 is third at 160 mph, while Andrew in 1992 is second at 165. The worst storm in Florida history was the Labor Day storm in 1935, with winds of 185 mph.