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Sarasota and Manatee counties are currently in danger from Hurricane Milton. Here's the latest:

Hurricane Milton: Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night in the Sarasota-Manatee area. Rainfall is expected to be 5-12 inches, with up to 18 inches in localized areas. A deadly storm surge of 10-15 feet is also forecast for Sarasota-Manatee. See the latest forecast.

Evacuations: Sarasota and Manatee counties have ordered the evacuation of of everyone living in Levels A, B and C, as well as people in mobile homes and RVs. Find your level and a list of shelters in Manatee County or Sarasota County.

Barrier Islands: Water service has been shut off to all barrier islands and the island of Venice. No one is allowed back onto the barrier islands until after the storm.

See below for the latest updates on Hurricane Milton for Sarasota and Manatee counties, and stay safe.

Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall in the Sarasota-Manatee area as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, according to the 7 a.m. briefing of the National Weather Service.

It will be the strongest storm to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area in more than 100 years.

“Historic, catastrophic, life-threatening – all those words summarize the situation,” said Austen Flannery, a forecaster with the NWS Tampa Bay office.

A life-threatening storm surge of 10 to 15 feet is forecast for Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Flannery stressed that the storm surge will be more than double that of the record surge from Hurricane Helene – also accompanied by “very, very strong winds.”

Water levels will start to increase Wednesday afternoon and peak Thursday morning – with residual increases through the afternoon.

Flannery said that Milton has been a very strong, compact storm so far but as a front that will steer the storm approaches Florida, it will expand.

He said there was still some time for people to move to a safer shelter Wednesday morning, but “the window to leave is very quickly coming to a close.”

Flannery said that there may come a time when people need to take refuge within their shelter – like for a tornado – in an interior, windowless room of the structure.

When will tropical storm force winds arrive

Milton is 300 miles southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, moving northeast at 14 mph, with a central pressure of 907 mb. Hurricane-force winds extend out 30 miles and tropical storm-force winds extend 125 miles.

Tropical storm winds are forecast to arrive in Sarasota-Manatee between 2 and 4 p.m. today, with hurricane winds following later in the evening. Tropical storm winds will likely leave the area between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursday.

Rainfall could result in flooding

A flood watch is forecast for the entire Sarasota-Manatee area through Thursday evening as Hurricane Milton brings 6-12 inches of rain, with localized totals up to 18 inches.

Flannery said on the northern portion of the eye, the rainfall could approach that recently experienced from Hurricane Debby.

“The heaviest rainfall is going to be along, and north of, the track,” he added.

Many rivers are forecast to go into moderate to major flood stage.

The Myakka River at Myakka State Park is already at minor flood stage and is projected to reac 10.6 feet after 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Peace River was below the action stage Wednesday morning. It is projected to reach the minor flood stage of 8 feet by 5 a.m. Thursday, moderate flood stage of 9.2 feet at 5 a.m. Friday and major flood stage of 10.1 feet after 5 a.m. Saturday.

Heavy rainfall is forecast throughout Thursday. The highest risk for flash flooding is along the north of the forecast track.

The threat of many tornadoes exists through Thursday morning, south of Interstate 4.

Rainfall shouldn’t generate the same river flooding as was experienced in and around the city of North Port from Hurricane Ian in 2022, Flannery said, adding that as much as 26 inches of rain fell in isolated areas.

But storm surge could prompt flooding in North Port and along the Myakka River.

“The one tricky part is still the storm surge component, which is going to back water up the rivers,” Flannery said.

Hurricane Milton has maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and is a Category 5 storm, according to the 5 a.m. National Hurricane Center update.

"The global models agree that vertical wind shear is expected to begin to increase over Milton later today, and that should cause some weakening. However, there is high confidence that Milton will remain a very dangerous hurricane when it reaches Florida, and maintain hurricane status as it moves across the state," reads the NHC forecast.

Hurricane Milton is also expected to grow in size and cover a large area with hurricane-force winds by the time it reaches land, likely in Sarasota and Manatee counties, late Wednesday night.

The NHC predicts Hurricane Milton will be on the low end of Category 4 when it makes landfall, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.

The rainfall forecast for Sarasota and Manatee counties has increased, now predicting 6-12 inches, with localized areas reaching 18 inches. The deadly storm surge expected in Sarasota and Manatee counties has not changed: 10-15 feet, more than twice what the area received during Hurricane Helene.

Sarasota County has announced it will begin evacuations today for people living in Levels A, B and C areas, as well as everyone living in mobile homes or RVs. The county may extend that to people in Level C, as well.

Find your Sarasota County evacuation level here.

Here is the list of Sarasota County evacuation shelters. Evacuation centers are expected to open at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Manatee County has announced evacuations for those living in Levels A, B and C, as well as everyone living in a mobile home or RV.

Find your Manatee County evacuation level here.

Here is the ongoing list of Manatee County shelters.

Due to the early effects of Hurricane Milton, many coastal areas will not be deliverable this morning. Subscribers who can get a paper will receive one this morning. If not, they will receive the Wednesday edition the next time we deliver. Thank you.