Hurricane Milton began expanding as its outer bands lashed Florida's west coast Wednesday afternoon. The Category 4 storm is packing 130 mph winds and is moving northeast at 16 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Originally expected to hit closer to Tampa, the storm’s trajectory made a dramatic shift overnight and is forecast to make landfall south of Sarasota late Wednesday.
Tornadoes and storm surge are among the many concerns as the hurricane begins to consume the state. A tornado was reported just outside of Fort Myers Wednesday — damaging structures and bringing down power lines.
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Originally expected to make landfall near Tampa, the storm’s trajectory made a dramatic shift overnight and is now forecast to hit south of Sarasota late Wednesday.
"There is high confidence that this hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference Wednesday.
Areas near Sarasota are projected to get up to 15 feet of storm surge. In Tampa Bay, storm surge is anticipated to be up to 12 feet.
"The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the south of the landfall location," the National Weather Service says.
Mandatory evacuations are in place up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast. Shelters quickly began filling up as the National Weather Service said Wednesday after not that it's "now time to shelter-in-place."
, and while shelters began to fill up on Wednesday, local officials said they would make room for those seeking refuge.
After the storm makes landfall, it's expected to turn northeast and head toward the Orlando area — dumping about a foot of rain.
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Orlando International Airport closed on Wednesday, following the lead of Tampa International Airport, which suspended operations on Monday.
The storm also forced the closure of three of the major theme parks in Orlando — Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld.
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