Watch live coverage: Hurricane Milton nears landfall on Florida coast

Hurricane Milton is hurling rain, tornadoes and tropical storm-force winds at the U.S. coast as time runs out for residents to evacuate from the storm's potentially catastrophic path toward Florida.

The National Hurricane Center stressed that it was not certain where Milton’s center would come ashore Wednesday night because the storm’s path might “wobble,” but the entire Tampa Bay region and points south were at grave risk.

Tropical storm-force winds began lashing the coast Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. By late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts. They urged people who had not yet evacuated to stay put.

More Hurricane Milton coverage

Watch live coverage from Denver7's sister station WFTX in Southwest Florida in the player below