'This is it, folks': Florida officials warn it may be too late to evacuate

With major airports already shutting down, gas stations running low on fuel, a spate of tornado warnings and bridges on the Florida Peninsula closing, authorities are warning residents in the path of Hurricane Milton that it may be too late to evacuate.

"This is it, folks," Kathy Perkins, Pinellas County's emergency management director, said Wednesday morning. "I'm not saying this to scare you -- I want you to be prepared."

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As of noon Wednesday, Milton was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. The monster storm was located about 160 miles west-by-southwest of Fort Myers and about 190 miles southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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

A storm surge of up to 12 feet is expected for Tampa Bay and Fort Myers. The 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 produce flash flooding, officials said.

"For those of you who were hit by Hurricane Helene, this will be a knockout," Perkins said. "Buildings, homes wiped off foundations -- that is unsurvivable."

In its advisory Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said, "There will likely not be enough time to wait to leave on Wednesday."

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

"We probably have until 3 o'clock today. We should make a final decision no later than that," Sarah Steslicki of Belleair Beach near Tampa told ABC News in a phone interview at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. "We're evaluating the latest advisory on what would be the best decision for us, but we have not made a final decision."

She said she and her husband, as well as their adult daughter, are prepared to stay put during the hurricane, saying their three-story home is in a high area of their community and that they have a "safe room" in their residence with a concrete floor, concrete block walls and boarded-up windows to flee to "if things go crazy."

"In case the water goes out, we have bathtubs and buckets of water all over the house as well as bottled water to drink. We've been here for 30 years, we've done this numerous times," said Steslicki, adding that her home still has power.

But other Tampa-area residents said they evacuated early.

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

Pownall said he and his family left the Tampa area on Monday night and relocated to a resort in Orlando.

"Some of our family 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 was ready for what is stacking up to be a catastrophic storm.

"This storm is a major threat," DeSantis said. "We are bracing and preparing to receive a major hit. We're facing 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 ceased operations. Farther south, the Palm Beach International Airport was set to close Wednesday night, while Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport plan to stay open, although flight delays are expected.

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

Perkins said mandatory evacuations were well underway and warned people living in mobile homes to seek shelter immediately.

"We have space 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 another place to go, please come."

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has the ability to accommodate more than 200,000 people in shelters. He said 31,000 people stayed in shelters Tuesday night.

"If you think it's too late, there is room. Your home can be replaced, but you cannot," Guthrie said.

The four-lane Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the gateway in and out of Tampa, was closed Wednesday and Perkins said other bridges on the Florida Peninsula will be closing, too.

"By dusk, all the bridges off the peninsula will be closed. You'll be on your own after that," Perkins said.

She also said that first responders will be pulled off the roads due to flooding and high winds.

"We don't want to be plucking people out of the water," Perkins said. "You are running out of time."

According to GasBuddy data, more than 43% of gas stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area were out of gas and 17.4% of gas stations in Florida had no fuel.

Gov. DeSantis, however, said there was "no fuel shortage" in Florida, but conceded some gas stations have run out.

"We've dispatched 1.6 million gallons of diesel and 1.1 million gallons of gasoline," DeSantis said, adding that the Florida Highway Patrol has been escorting fuel tankers to ensure a continued supply of fuel, especially in ports like Tampa Bay and Manatee.