Stores across the central Florida region saw runs on bottled water, flashlights, and generators. Long lines of vehicles jockeyed for sand and sandbags — scarce, in some places that offered

As Hurricane Milton approaches, South Florida cities, government agencies, businesses, entertainment venues and other groups are deciding how to proceed in the next few days — whether to stay open

Hurricane Milton strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers, threatening a 12-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.

As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida, Jacksonville-area schools, governments and other organizations are closing or evaluating their plans.

Here is what Floridians need to know about school closures, shelters, evacuation orders, emergency contacts, and other information and updates.

Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s anticipated landfall as a major hurricane in Florida this week, mandatory evacuations in Tampa Bay have begun.

Forecasters say Milton is expected to be a hurricane small in size, but there is still uncertainty about both intensity and track.

Milton became a hurricane on Sunday and could possibly gain more strength as it moves toward the west coast of Florida

The WPBF 25 First Warning Weather team is tracking Hurricane Milton as the 9th named hurricane of the season. As of the 5 p.m. advisory, Milton is about 805 miles west-southwest from Tampa and has maximum sustained wind speeds of 85 mph.