Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm before weakening to a Category 2 as it came ashore, according to the National Hurricane Center. Follow for live updates.

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, Wednesday night. The storm is on track to rake across the Florida peninsula after landfall and head into the Atlantic Ocean. Maps show Milton is expected to flood parts of Florida's Gulf Coast with storm surge as high as 9 to 13 feet.

Milton slammed into Florida's already storm-blasted coast Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane threatening huge swaths of Tampa Bay, Sarasota and regions still reeling from the destruction of Helene.