Emotions have been running high for many families in the Hudson Valley who have loved ones down in Florida as Hurricane Irma sweeps across the Sunshine State.

News 12's Tara Rosenblum kept in close contact with her own relatives as her hometown of Miami was buffeted by the storm.

Miami took an early hit, with the storm surge transforming iconic Brickell Avenue into a virtual river. Poor conditions persisted all day Sunday as Irma marched up Florida's Gulf Coast toward Tampa Bay.

The high winds snapped power lines, leaving nearly more than 2 million homes in the dark, including the home of Rosenblum’s family. And a tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale near Rosenblum’s sister’s home, scattering debris and splitting trees.

Irma then traveled to Naples as it weakened to a Category 2, then raced towards Tampa, which hasn’t seen a direct hit from a hurricane in nearly 100 years.

The mammoth, life-threatening storm prompted one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history, and is expected to spur one of the costliest cleanup efforts.