Live Updates: Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota, as Florida sees flooding and tornadoes

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key Wednesday night as the National Weather Service issued extreme wind warnings for the Tampa area.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said at a press conference earlier that Milton was in the “process of making landfall” as a Category 3 storm.

The state has experienced flooding and several tornadoes ahead of Milton’s landing.

DeSantis told residents to ride out the storm and stay in place as it is now too dangerous to evacuate. More than 500,000 homes and businesses in Florida are without power.

Less than two weeks earlier, Hurricane Helene escalated in a similarly short time span in the Gulf of Mexico before ravaging the southeastern U.S.

Federal agencies are also warning of heightened risk of scams and price gouging efforts.

Follow along for more updates.