TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton hurled rain, tornadoes and tropical storm-force winds at the U.S.
coast Wednesday as time ran out for Florida residents to evacuate from the potentially catastrophic path of the storm. Milton’s center spread ashore Wednesday night, according to the National Hurricane Center, putting the entire Tampa Bay region and points south at grave risk. Tropical storm-force winds began lashing the coast Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. “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.” By late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts. By the evening, some counties announced they has suspended emergency services.
“Unless you really have a good reason to leave at this point, we suggest you just hunker down,” Polk County Emergency Management Director Paul Womble said in a public update. Milton, which has fluctuated in intensity as it approaches Florida, was a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday evening. It was expected to remain a hurricane after hitting land and plowing across the state, including the heavily populated Orlando area, through Thursday.
Tampa Bay, near the top of a long stretch of coastline that could be in the .