A drizzle fell on Bayfront Park and Marina in downtown Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday morning as Marilyn Borysek walked her dog, Nemo, a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, in a stroller.

“I’m just taking pictures, because this probably won’t look the same in 24 hours,” she said, pointing to Sarasota Bay, thought it was hard to tell where the dark, heavy sky ended and the choppy water began.

Behind her stood the gleaming condos of Sarasota, a city of about 55,000 on Florida’s Gulf Coast about 60 miles south of Tampa that has grown dramatically in recent years, attracting wealthier retirees and artsy types drawn to the area’s museums and theaters.

While Hurricane Milton’s path was in flux as it approached the state, the Category 4 storm appeared to be heading toward the area of Sarasota, rattling the city’s newer arrivals as well as its longtime residents. While previous hurricanes — most recently Helene — have caused power losses and damage, none has directly struck Sarasota since 1946, according to a New York Times analysis of hurricane information from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database. And that storm made landfall at Category 1 strength.

Two years ago, when Hurricane Ian veered south toward Fort Myers, “we dodged a bullet,” said Ms. Borysek, 60. This time, she and others feared that Sarasota would not be so lucky.