As powerful Hurricane Milton moved closer to Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday afternoon, tropical storm-force winds began lashing the state as officials said time was running out for people to evacuate — and the odds of survival were bleak for holdouts determined to stay.
Milton has fluctuated in intensity as it approaches Florida and became a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday afternoon. Millions have been ordered to evacuate and bridges were closing as the storm was expected to bring massive storm surges, damaging winds and flooding rains.
KSAT’s sister station in Orlando, WKMG, is providing extensive coverage of the storm. You can watch WKMG’s coverage in the video player above.
The storm is threatening the Tampa Bay area, a major population center that is home to more than 3.3 million people and has managed to evade a direct hit from a major hurricane for over 100 years. Milton, which had already brought rain, winds and tornadoes on Wednesday, is menacing communities already battered by deadly Hurricane Helene, which came ashore just two weeks ago.
Click here for the latest updates on the hurricane. You can watch additional livestreams on the KSAT Plus page.