Hurricane Milton tracker: See projected path of 'extremely life-threatening' storm

As Hurricane Milton rages toward Florida , officials continue to sound the alarm on the dire threat the powerful storm poses to those who remain in its path.

The storm, which is on track to hit the Florida peninsula Wednesday night or early Thursday , presents an "extremely life-threatening situation" to those on the state's western coast, the National Hurricane Center has repeatedly warned .

Milton was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds near 120 mph, as of the NHC's 5 p.m. ET update Wednesday . The storm had been a Category 4 storm for most of the day after it briefly regained Category 5 strength on Tuesday .

While the storm has weakened before landfall, experts like NHC specialist John Cangialosi warn that “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida." Milton's center is predicted to make landfall somewhere along the coast between Tarpon Springs and Cape Coral, according to the hurricane center's official forecast.

The NHC's Wednesday afternoon update projected Milton to be a Category 3 or 4 hurricane when it makes landfall overnight.

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Hurricane Milton tracker

Hurricane Milton spaghetti models

Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.

National Hurricane Center warns of 'life-threatening' storm's approach

Meteorologists from the National Hurricane Center repeatedly forecasted heavy rainfall totaling 6 to 12 inches across central to northern portions of the Florida Peninsula through Thursday, with localized totals up to 18 inches.

"This rainfall brings the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding," the center said in its morning update.

Hurricane-force winds are also expected along portions of the state's west coast, where a hurricane warning is in effect, and could even extend well inland and outside the forecast cone. Hurricane warning maps show Florida blanketed in red and orange alerts.

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"Preparations to protect life and property, including being ready for long-duration power outage, should be rushed to completion," the center warned. "Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida."

Universal Studios Orlando and Walt Disney World both announced closures bracing for landfall, and Tropicana Field where the Tampa Bay Rays play home games has been transformed into a base camp for emergency responders.

On Tuesday, evacuating Florida residents headed to Georgia to escape Milton ahead of landfall. Over a hundred miles north of the state line, many were stuck in central Georgia traffic and packed gas stations.

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Hurricane Milton livestream

Watch live as Hurricane Milton heads toward Florida.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: James Powel, John Bacon , Trevor Hughes , Dinah Voyles Pulver , Christopher Cann , Michael Loria , Thao Nguyen , USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Milton tracker: See projected path of 'extremely life-threatening' storm