The outer bands of Hurricane Milton began hitting Florida late Wednesday morning with "tornadic supercells" sweeping across the southern part of the state, the National Weather Service said. WATCH LIVE COVERAGE ON SCRIPPS NEWS TAMPA Hurricane Milton is a Category 4 storm packing winds of 145 mph. Originally expected to hit closer to Tampa, the storms trajectory made a dramatic shift overnight and is forecast to make landfall south of Sarasota late Wednesday. Despite the shift, the storm is expected to grow in size and affect a majority of the state."There is high confidence that this hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference Wednesday. Areas near Sarasota are projected to get up to 15 feet of storm surge. In Tampa Bay, storm surge is anticipated to be up to 12 feet. "The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the south of the landfall location," the National Weather Service says. In a 1 p.m. update on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said tropical storm-force winds were just offshore Florida's West Coast, and warned that now is the time to stay indoors and away from windows. It is also a time to ensure batteries are all charged up as power outages are anticipated. "Keep a battery-powered radio, charged cell phone and flashlight handy," the NHC said. Mandatory evacuations are in place up and down Floridas Gulf Coast, and while shelters began to fill up on Wednesday, local officials said they would make room for those seeking refuge. After the storm makes landfall, it's expected to turn northeast and head toward the Orlando area dumping about a foot of rain.RELATED STORY | Hurricane Milton: Evacuation zones in Florida and what they meanOrlando International Airport closed on Wednesday, following the lead of Tampa International Airport, which suspended operations on Monday.The storm also forced the closure of three of the major theme parks in Orlando Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld.RELATED STORY | Here's how to send texts or summon help via satellite using an iPhone