With major airports already closed, gas stations nearly empty, a wave of tornado warnings and bridges closed across the Florida peninsula, authorities are warning residents in Hurricane Milton’s path that it may be too late to evacuate.

“This is it, folks,” Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Kathy Perkins said Wednesday morning. “I’m not saying this to scare you; I want you to be prepared.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Milton was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. The monster storm was about 160 miles west of Fort Myers and about 200 miles southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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

Storm surge of up to 12 feet is expected for Tampa Bay and Fort Myers. The storm surge could reach a life-threatening depth of 15 feet near Sarasota, officials said.

In addition to the storm surge and buzzsaw-like winds, parts of central Florida are preparing for up to 18 inches of rain, which is expected to cause flash flooding, officials said.

“For those of you affected by Hurricane Helene, this will be a knockout,” Perkins said. “Buildings, houses that have been swept away from their foundations – that is insurmountable.”

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

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

“We probably have until 3 o’clock today. We have to make a final decision no later than then,” Sarah Steslicki of Belleair Beach near Tampa told ABC News in a telephone interview about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. “We are evaluating the latest advice on what would be the best decision for us, but we have not yet made a final decision.”

She said she and her husband, as well as their adult daughter, are prepared to shelter in place during the hurricane. They say their three-story home is in a high part of their community and they have a “safe room” in their home with a concrete floor, concrete block walls and boarded-up windows to escape to “when things get crazy ‘.

“In case the water goes out, we have bathtubs and buckets of water all over the house, as well as bottled water for drinking. We’ve been here 30 years and have done this countless times,” said Steslicki, adding that her house still has current.

But other residents in the Tampa area said they were evacuated early.

“I’m glad I’m in a place of power,” Danny Pownall, who lost his home in Redington Shores near Tampa during Hurricane Helene, told ABC News on Wednesday.

Pownall said he and his family left the Tampa area Monday evening and moved to a resort in Orlando.

“Some of our family stayed where we were. We tried to get them to leave, but they wouldn’t let us,” Pownall said.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state was ready for what is building to be a catastrophic storm.

“This storm is a major threat,” DeSantis said. “We are bracing ourselves and preparing for a big blow. We face 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 halted operations. Further south, Palm Beach International Airport was expected to close Wednesday evening, while Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport plan to remain open, although delays are expected.

Making matters worse, at least six tornadoes ripped through South Florida on Wednesday and numerous other tornado watches and cautions were issued.

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

“We have room for up to 20,000 people in our shelters,” Perkins said of Pinellas County shelters. “They are pet friendly and if you have no other place to go, please come.”

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has the capacity to house more than 200,000 people in shelters. He said 31,000 people remained in shelters as of Tuesday evening.

‘If you think it’s too late, there’s still room. Your house can be replaced, but you can’t,” Guthrie said.

The four-lane Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the gateway to and from Tampa, was closed Wednesday and Perkins said other bridges on the Florida Peninsula will also close.

‘When it gets dark, all the bridges on the peninsula are closed. After that, you’re on your own,” Perkins said.

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

“We don’t want to pick people out of the water,” Perkins said. “You’re running out of time.”

According to GasBuddy data, more than 43% of gas stations in Tampa-St. Petersburg was out of gas and 17.4% of gas stations in Florida were out of gas.

However, Governor DeSantis said there was “no fuel shortage” in Florida, but admitted some gas stations were empty.

“We shipped 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 at ports like Tampa Bay and Manatee.