'This is it, folks': Officials in Florida warn it may be too late to evacuate as Hurricane Milton hits

Major airports are already closed, gas stations are running low, there is a spate of tornado warnings and bridges across the Florida Peninsula are closed. Authorities are warning residents in Hurricane Milton's area that it may be too late to evacuate.

“This is it, folks,” Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Kathy Perkins said Wednesday morning. “I’m not saying this to scare you – I want you to be prepared.”

As of midday Wednesday, Milton was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour. According to the National Hurricane Center, the monster storm was located about 160 miles west-southwest of Fort Myers and about 190 miles southwest of Tampa.

Milton is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane between 9 and 11 p.m. Wednesday near Sarasota, south of Tampa. Strong wind gusts of over 100 mph are forecast for the Tampa area during landfall.

Storm surge of up to 12 feet is expected for Tampa Bay and Fort Myers. Storm surge could reach a life-threatening 15 feet near Sarasota, officials said.

In addition to the storm surge and buzzsaw-like winds, parts of Central Florida are bracing for up to 18 inches of rain, which is expected to lead to flash flooding, officials said.

“For those of you who were hit by Hurricane Helene, this will be a knockout,” Perkins said. “Buildings, houses torn from their foundations – it’s not survivable.”

In its statement Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said, “There likely will not be enough time to wait for departure on Wednesday.”

But some Tampa area residents told ABC News they are still deciding whether to evacuate their homes or ride out the storm.

“We probably have until 3 p.m. today. We should make a final decision by then at the latest,” Sarah Steslicki of Belleair Beach near Tampa said in a telephone interview with ABC News around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. “We are evaluating the latest recommendation as to what would be the best decision for us, but have not yet made a final decision.”

She said she and her husband and adult daughter were prepared to stay put during the hurricane. Their three-story house is in a high part of their community and they have a “safe room” in their apartment with a concrete floor, cinder block walls and boarded up windows to escape into “if things go crazy.”

“We have bathtubs and buckets of water throughout the house, as well as bottled drinking water, in case we run out of water. We’ve been here for 30 years and have done this many times,” Steslicki said, adding their home still has power.

But other Tampa area residents said they evacuated early.

“I'm happy to be in a place with power,” Danny Pownall, who lost his home in Redington Shores near Tampa during Hurricane Helene, told ABC News on Wednesday.

Pownall said he and his family left the Tampa area Monday evening and moved to a resort in Orlando.

“Some of our family members stayed put. We tried to get them to leave, but they wouldn’t,” Pownall said.

During a news conference Wednesday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state is prepared for an impending catastrophic storm.

“This storm is a major threat,” DeSantis said. “We are bracing ourselves and preparing for a big blow. We are approaching this with the seriousness it deserves, but also with the determination that we will get through this.”

Airports including Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport have already suspended operations. Further south, Palm Beach International Airport was expected to close Wednesday evening, while Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are expected to remain open, although flight delays are expected.

Making matters worse, at least six tornadoes struck South Florida on Wednesday and numerous other tornado watches and warnings were issued.

Perkins said mandatory evacuations were in full swing and urged people living in mobile homes to seek shelter immediately.

“We have room for up to 20,000 people in our shelters,” Perkins said of the shelters in Pinellas County. “They are pet friendly and if you don’t have anywhere else to go, please come by.”

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has the capacity to house more than 200,000 people in emergency shelters. He said 31,000 people remained in shelters as of Tuesday evening.

“If you think it’s too late, there’s still room. Your home can be replaced, but you can’t,” Guthrie said.

The four-lane Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the gateway to and from Tampa, was closed Wednesday and Perkins said other bridges on the Florida Peninsula will also be closed.

“By nightfall, all bridges to the peninsula will be closed. After that, you’re on your own,” Perkins said.

She also said first responders are being pulled off the roads due to flooding and high winds.

“We don’t want to take people out of the water,” Perkins said. “You’re running out of time.”

According to GasBuddy data, more than 43% of gas stations in the Tampa-St. The Petersburg area ran out of gas and 17.4% of Florida gas stations were out of fuel.

However, Gov. DeSantis said there is “no fuel shortage” in Florida but acknowledged some gas stations are running out.

“We shipped 1.6 million gallons of diesel and 1.1 million gallons of gasoline,” DeSantis said, adding that the Florida Highway Patrol escorted fuel tankers to ensure a steady supply of fuel, particularly at ports like Tampa Bay and Manatee.