Hurricane Milton updates: 16 dead across Florida in storm's aftermath

Sarasota County in southwest Florida expanded its evacuation orders early Wednesday in preparation for Hurricane Milton's expected landfall.

The county said in a post to X that its evacuation orders now also include those areas classified as "Level C." Levels A and B are already under evacuation orders.

Level C areas are considered at risk in Category 3 storm conditions with winds of 111 to 130 mph and storm surge of up to 18 feet.

Sarasota County's evacuation levels go as high as Level E, which is for Category 5 storms with winds higher than 155 mph and storm surge up to 32 feet.

Milton is expected to make landfall near the city of Sarasota between 9 p.m. and midnight on Wednesday as a high-end Category 3 or low-end Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Milton is growing in size and its wind field is widening as it approaches the Florida coast.

The storm is expected to make landfall near Sarasota, Florida, on Wednesday evening as either a high-end Category 3 or low-end Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 125 to 130 mph.

Tampa Bay is expecting 10 to 15 feet of storm surge, with the estimated surge for St. Petersburg now down to 10 to 12 feet.

Fort Myers is now also facing a higher storm surge threat, possibly up to 12 feet.

The storm surge in the Tampa Bay and Fort Myers areas is expected to set new records.

-ABC News' Max Golembo

Hurricane Milton is around 300 miles southwest of Tampa as Florida braces for impact between 9 p.m. ET and midnight on Wednesday.

Milton regained Category 5 status with 165 mph winds on Tuesday, becoming the strongest Atlantic hurricane so late in the calendar year since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Landfall is projected just south of Tampa, possibly near Sarasota. Milton is expected to make landfall as a high end Category 3 hurricane with winds of around 125 mph -- shy of Category 4 which begins at 130 mph.

The Tampa Bay area is expected to experience strong wind gusts of over 100 mph during landfall, with wind gusts of more than 74 mph possible even on the east coast of Florida around Cape Canaveral.

Hurricane warnings have been issued for the east and west coast of Florida, with tropical storm warnings issued as far south as Miami and the Florida Keys.

Milton's storm surge poses the most significant threat. Tampa Bay and Fort Myers are expecting record breaking storm surge of up to 15 and 12 feet, respectively.

Heavy rain is expected to bring flash flooding. As many as 18 inches of rain is possible from Tampa to Orlando, and in parts of central Florida.

-ABC News' Max Golembo

Hurricane Milton was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds close to 160 mph as of 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center's latest update. The storm is in the Gulf of Mexico moving northeast towards Florida at around 12 mph.

The storm is expected to make landfall along Florida's west-central coast as a Category 3 storm late Wednesday or early Thursday, subsequently moving off the east coast of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday afternoon.

"Milton is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida," the NHC said early Wednesday. "Weather conditions are expected to begin deteriorating this afternoon."

Hurricane-force winds extend outward from Milton's center to around 30 miles, with tropical-storm-force extending out to 140 miles.