Tornadoes spin down as hurricane arrives on Florida coast

Hurricane Milton hurled rain, tornadoes and tropical storm-force winds at the U.S. coast Wednesday on the storm's steady, potentially catastrophic march toward Florida, where officials issued a final plea to residents to evacuate or face grim odds of survival.

The National Hurricane Center stressed that it was not certain where Milton’s center would come ashore Wednesday night because the storm's path might “wobble,” but the entire Tampa Bay region and points south were at grave risk. Tropical storm-force winds began lashing the coast Wednesday afternoon.

Milton came on the scene on Saturday as a tropical storm. Early Monday morning, Milton kicked off a rapid intensification starting as a Category 2 storm. It has waffled between Category 4 and 5 strength since Tuesday.

The Tampa Bay and Ft. Meyers areas are expected to bear the brunt of Hurricane Milton. Tampa has the potential to see 10 to 15 feet of storm surge, but this is highly dependent on the track. A slight shift in the landfall south of Tampa Bay would result in lower surge totals.

Rainfall from Milton is expected to range between 5-12 inches with localized totals up to 18 inches across portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys through Wednesday night. That rainfall will bring risks of flash, urban and areal flooding along with minor to moderate river flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Video: Officer Garvey Garcia/Pembroke Pines Police Dept, @AlexanderCorris/ X, Florida Department of Transportation via CNN

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