Tornadoes are hitting Broward County, and Anna Maria Island is bracing for a direct hit.
Milton transitioned into a category 4 hurricane Wednesday on a path toward Florida population centers, threatening a 15-foot storm surge near Tampa Bay and triggering mass evacuations along the west coast of Florida, where millions were ordered to flee and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.
In its 2 p.m. update, the National Hurricane Center said Milton was growing in size as it approached the coast. Life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains are expected across portions of central and southwestern Florida. A tornado watch blankets the southern part of the state.
The National Hurricane Center stressed that it was not certain exactly where Milton’s center would come ashore Wednesday night because the storm's path might “wobble,” but that the entire “This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.
As of the latest update, the National Hurricane Center had Milton about 150 miles southwest of Tampa, moving at a speed of 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of southern Florida starting Wednesday morning, with conditions deteriorating as the day progressed. Six to 12 inches of rain, with up to 18 inches in some places, was expected well inland, bringing the risk ofTornadoes were also a threat; one touched down Wednesday morning in the lightly populated Everglades area of South Florida and c
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