Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, bringing powerful winds, deadly storm surge and potential flooding to much of the state. Milton drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters,

Heavy rain is lashing Florida’s west coast Wednesday morning ahead of Milton, which remains on track to slam the state late Wednesday and Thursday as an extremely dangerous hurricane. It will bring destructive storm surge,

Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.