Hurricane Milton is expected to wallop the west-central coast of Florida

The National Hurricane Center said, “Milton is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida Wednesday night,”

Officials are anticipating hurricane-force winds to impact at locations on West & Central Florid as they are actively monitoring the storm’s path and expect to be impacted by prolonged power outages, flooding and other damage.

Mass migration has snarled traffic in what could be Florida’s largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Nearly 1,300 gas stations have run out of fuel in Florida, among them almost half in the vulnerable Tampa/St. Petersburg region, as millions of residents in the state scramble to flee from Hurricane Milton’s path.

According to data from the gas price tracking service GasBuddy, about 16 percent of Florida’s 7,912 stations were without fuel as of Tuesday afternoon.

The brutal storm is forecast to generate an ocean surge that could inundate the hardest-hit areas with 10 to 15 feet of water, resulting in extensive damage and potentially costing billions of dollars.

“If you’re under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now, now, now,” said President Joe Biden Tuesday.

Milton — an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane — was growing in size Tuesday while sweeping toward Florida’s west coast.

The storm is predicted to make landfall Wednesday night, striking a densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers.

“If Milton stays on its course, this will be the most powerful hurricane to hit Tampa Bay in over 100 years,” the National Weather Service warned.