Hurricane Milton: County-by-county impacts, timeline

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ORLANDO, Fla. - Mandatory evacuations are underway across the west coast of Florida as millions of residents prepare for life-threatening impacts from Hurricane Milton. The storm continued to rapidly intensify over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and was a powerful Category 5 storm late Tuesday evening.

Parts of Florida are under tropical storm, hurricane, and storm surge watches and warnings. Several schools, colleges, and universities have announced closures ahead of the storm.

Milton's wrath will be felt throughout Central Florida starting Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. Strong winds, heavy rain, lightning, and tornadoes are all expected and possible as Milton's bands make their way through the area.

Hurricane Milton latest updates:

• Florida Evacuation Zones: Do you live in an evacuation zone? Here's how to find out
• Hurricane Milton: Florida airport closures, flight cancelations ahead of storm
• Evacuations: Central Florida evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Milton
• Florida school closures: Florida schools close as huge storms approaches Gulf coast
• Emergency Info: County-by-county guide for Central Florida

Here are the anticipated impacts and timing for Brevard County, Flagler County, Lake County, Marion County, Orange County, Osceola County, Polk County, Seminole County, Volusia County, as well as those in Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy counties.

Orange, Osceola, Polk, and Seminole counties

• When will the worst weather arrive? Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon.
• What can we expect? Strong winds with gusts at or exceeding 75-plus mph and tornadoes
• What rainfall can we expect? Heavy rain, 6-9" possible

Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties

• When will the worst weather arrive? Wednesday evening through Thursday morning.
• What can we expect? Strong winds with gusts at or exceeding 75 mph and tornadoes
• What rainfall can we expect? Heavy rain, 10-12" possible

Brevard, Flagler, and Volusia counties

• When will the worst weather arrive? Thursday morning through early Thursday afternoon.
• What can we expect? Strong winds with gusts at or exceeding 85 mph, storm surge, beach erosion, tornadoes.
• What rainfall can we expect? Heavy rain, 6-10" possible

Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy counties

• When will the worst weather arrive? Wednesday evening through Thursday morning.
• What can we expect? Strong winds with gusts at or exceeding 60 mph and tornadoes
• What rainfall can we expect? Flooding rain, 7-9" possible

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