Updates, expected direction of Category 3 storm as tornadoes hit before landfall near Tampa, Florida this evening

As authorities make their final appeals for residents to evacuate areas of Florida before Hurricane Milton's arrival, some Floridians are choosing to stay. One of them is Stephanie Livermore, 41, who lives in a “high and dry” seventh-floor condo in downtown St. Petersburg.

“Coming out of here is no joke,” Livermore told Yahoo News. “There wasn't enough fuel, people were running out of gas on the highway. You don’t always know exactly how severe the impact will be on an area, so you can even end up in a worst-case scenario.”

The area is not in a mandatory evacuation zone or flood zone. It lies within the “cone of uncertainty” in Hurricane Milton's forecast path – meaning the city may not suffer a direct hit, even though it is part of the Tampa Bay area.

That's one reason Livermore and her husband aren't evacuating, she told Yahoo News. Neither are some of the tenants who live on the floor of their building.

Livermore has lived in Florida since 2008 and said she has experienced tropical storms and hurricanes (she was out of town when Hurricane Helene hit two weeks ago) – but according to Livermore, in the end, they “weren't that bad” for her. Although the couple considered evacuating early on, they ultimately decided against it because “it didn’t make sense to them.” Livermore, a veterinarian, also houses eight pets in her apartment, some of which belong to friends who were evacuated.

“Could I have left? “Certainly,” she said. “Logistically it is difficult. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to actually start. But I don't feel like I'm in a situation where it would be terribly risky to hold out here.”

Since Livermore's husband works in the restaurant industry, they were able to easily obtain food supplies that lasted several days. The couple stocked up on mineral water and pet food. Paper products sold out very quickly in her area, so Livermore is a little concerned about that.

“There’s really nothing you can do other than try to protect yourself,” she said. “You just have to take it minute by minute, weather the storm and then deal with the aftermath as best you can and just help each other.”