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

"We're approaching that 11th hour," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Wednesday as the Tampa Bay area prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Milton.

"My message is simple," Chronister said in a video posted to the department's X page. "If you need to get someplace safe for whatever reason, the time to do so is now."

"If you need to get to a shelter, do so immediately," the department wrote alongside the video.

The wider Tampa area is projected to experience storm surge of up to 15 feet and wind gusts of over 100 mph when Milton makes landfall on Wednesday night.

Hurricane Milton is heading toward west-central Florida as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds. Landfall is expected between 8:30 and 10 p.m. ET

The storm is about 35 miles west-southeast of Sarasota and moving at 15 mph.

The latest storm surge forecast is nine to 13 feet for Sarasota, six to nine feet for Tampa and eight to 12 feet for Fort Myers.

Widespread heavy rain is impacting much of the Florida peninsula with tropical storm-force winds spreading inland.

A recent wind gust of 68 miles per hour was reported in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

There have been at least 26 reported tornadoes across the Florida peninsula so far today with the majority of them across South Florida. Multiple tornadoes have been confirmed in South Florida so far, including the Miami-Dade area.

The tornado threat continues with several tornado warnings currently in effect across the eastern Florida peninsula, from west of West Palm Beach to just southeast of Orlando.

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