Alert – Hurricane Milton updates: Terrifying lightning strikes Cancun and gridlock jams Florida roads as 155mph superstorm approaches Tampa

Wild footage posted on social media shows the moment lightning struck Cancun, on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula close to Hurricane Milton’s current position.

The strike is so ferocious the camera shakes on impact, and the person filming appears to duck for cover in their home.

Hurricane Milton rapidly swelled to a Category 5 storm Monday afternoon before shrinking back to a Category 4. It is expected to regain Category 5 status through Tuesday – the most severe classification on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale.

The storm is currently whisking up the Gulf of Mexico around 560 miles southwest of Tampa with winds of 155mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Tuesday morning update.

‘Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,’ the center said.

The photographs below show the airport after its closure, with stranded passengers set to be bussed to shelters.

The outskirts of Hurricane Milton are set to bring tornadoes and waterspouts to the Florida Peninsula and the Keys as soon as Tuesday evening, meteorologists have warned.

‘Several places may experience tornado damage with a few spots of considerable damage, power loss, and communication failures,’ the National Weather Service office in Miami said.

Tuesday evening brings a level 1 of 5 risk of tornadoes for parts of central and southern Florida including Miami, Tampa and Fort Myers.

This threat increases to a 2 of 5 on Wednesday as more of the hurricane’s outer bands batter regions covering Tampa, Orlando, Naples, Key West and Miami.

Florida Governor DeSantis has accused Kamala Harris of having ‘no role’ in hurricane efforts and playing ‘political games’ rather than trying to protect residents in his state.

‘I’ve been in touch with both FEMA and the president… and so for Kamala Harris to try to say that my sole focus on the people of Florida is somehow selfish is delusional’, he told Fox News.

‘She has no role in this. In fact, she has been vice president for three and a half years. I have dealt with a number of storms under this administration.

‘She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts, and so what I think is her trying to blunder into this — she has no role in any of this.’

He also accused Harris of ‘trying to politicize the storm’ for her presidential campaign.

Traffic lines can be seen for miles as Floridians flee major cities including Tampa, Orlando and Fort Myers as the hurricane is set to make landfall on the west coast by Wednesday afternoon.

The below video shows the Tuesday morning backlog on Interstate 4 heading out of Tampa.

Tampa’s airport closed indefinitely from 9am Tuesday, meaning residents can no longer evacuate by plane.

It comes as traffic is gridlocked on many major routes out of the city, as well as in Orlando and Fort Myers – the other Florida metro areas projected to be severely impacted by the hurricane.

Tampa is especially vulnerable to the destructive impacts of hurricanes, meaning Milton could be catastrophic, according to Dr Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.

Dr Godby said this is thanks to a combination of the low-lying water close to Tampa Bay and its dense population and infrastructure.

‘Tampa has long been regarded as the most vulnerable metropolitan area in the United States to storm surge flooding,’ Dr Godby explained to DailyMail.com

‘Direct hurricane strikes on the west coast of Florida are rare, but much of it is low-lying and the relatively shallow water offshore makes it vulnerable to large storm surges.

‘The last major hurricane (Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) to affect the Tampa Bay region made landfall in on 25 October 1921, bringing a storm surge of 3-3.5 metres and winds of 185 km/h that caused losses that today would be $180 million. ‘With Hurricane Milton bearing down on Tampa it is worth noting that the population at that time was around 160,000 and has now swelled to over three million, many living on ground less than three metres above sea level.

‘Large numbers of homes, schools, government buildings and critical infrastructure are at risk of flooding and wind damage.’

Dr Godby added that the debris left over by Hurricane Helene which struck the region two weeks ago also poses an additional risk of projectiles being whipped up by severe winds.

‘The authorities having been stressing that people living along this coast have no living memory of this kind of storm, need to evacuate if instructed to do so and to be somewhere safe by Tuesday night,’ he said.

Milton expanded this morning as it hurtled over the Gulf of Mexico towards Tampa – making it potentially ‘one of the most destructive hurricanes on record’ for west-central Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane’s 155mph winds are becoming more wide-reaching from the center of the storm – vastly increasing its capacity to cause widespread destruction.

Milton’s gales extended around 80 miles from the eye of the storm through Monday, and this increased to just over 100 miles by Wednesday morning.

‘Milton is still a relatively compact hurricane, but the wind field is expected to continue to grow in size as it approaches Florida,’ the National Hurricane Center said.

‘In fact, the official forecast shows the hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds roughly doubling in size by the time it makes landfall.’

The hurricane is now less than 560 miles away from making landfall in Florida, meteorologists have warned.

Milton is set to strike while Hurricane Helene recovery efforts continue, with at least 231 confirmed dead and many more missing.

Helene made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 storm on September 26, with record-breaking storm surges of almost nine feet.

It quickly traveled north, devastating areas of North Carolina and Tennessee with horrific floods that wiped entire towns off the map.

Tampa sat south of Helene’s path, but still saw record floods and 12 deaths. Milton is set to strike the Gulf Coast city directly with storm surges of up to 15 feet – twice those of Helene.

Hurricane forecasters say Milton has weakened from a Category 5 hurricane to a Category 4, but warn it could re-strengthen to Category 5 today. Landfall is expected Wednesday.

A hurricane tracker shows Milton traveling east across the Sunshine State before moving out across the Atlantic Ocean.

Helene survivors collect donated items at a gas station in Swannanoa, North Carolina on October 7. The region was devastated by the storm, with Hurricane Milton now set to unleash worse chaos on Tampa in Florida.

Tampa Airport bosses say they’re suspending all commercial and cargo flights from 9am ET Tuesday. The travel hub will remain closed indefinitely, with Hurricane Milton forecast to slam into the city on Wednesday.

Three other smaller local airports – Peter O. Knight Airport, Tampa Executive Airport and Plant City Airport – will also close at the same time.

Bosses have explained they can’t say when the airports will reopen as they’ll need to assess and repair any damage caused by Milton before committing to a date.

The last flights from Tampa Airport sold out Monday, with prices rocketing as people sought to flee the city.

The I-75 heading north from Tampa was busy with traffic Tuesday morning, Google Maps data shows.

The I-75 heading North from Tampa is pictured clogged with traffic Monday night as locals evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton.

Thousands of residents remain trapped in Florida as Hurricane Milton evacuation orders prompt a mass exodus ahead of the monster storm’s arrival tomorrow.

Traffic was at a standstill along Florida’s interstates this morning after officials in the Tampa Bay area warned residents to ‘flee or die’ as the Category 4 strength hurricane, which threatening the densely populated metro area, closes in.

However, some residents have claimed they cannot follow evacuation orders because it could be ‘more dangerous’ to hit the roads, alleging traffic is too congested and gas stations in their communities are ‘out of fuel’.

The Federal government is ‘ready to respond to any potential impacts on communities’ as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton to arrive late tomorrow.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced it was ‘mobilizing additional resources and personnel to prepare for the impacts of this new major storm’ in a statement issued Monday.

‘FEMA has sufficient funding to both support the response to Hurricane Milton and continue to support the response to Hurricane Helene,’ it said, adding that there was funding allocated to support first responders and provide ‘immediate’ assistance to disaster survivors.

President Biden yesterday approved Florida Gov. Ron de Santis’ request for an emergency declaration, allowing FEMA support to affected states for life-saving activities.

Monday’s statement said these provisions extended to ‘evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue’.

The American Red Cross is ‘racing against the clock’ to gather provisions for evacuees taking refuge in Florida, with Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall tomorrow.

The humanitarian organization said it was still sourcing volunteers, shelters and relief supplies for those fleeing their homes, while working with partners to provide support for ‘families upended’ by Hurricane Helene.

‘Some of the same communities ravaged by Helene are now facing this new threat,’ it said in a statement.

‘Millions of Floridians may be asked to evacuate. The Red Cross urges everyone to listen to local officials and make their storm preparations now.’

Evacuation shelters are listed on redcross.org, or can be found by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

Kamala Harris helps distribute food with the American Red Cross at the Henry Brigham Community Center in Augusta last week

A steady stream of vehicles headed north toward the Florida Panhandle on Interstate 75 as residents heeded evacuation orders today.

Traffic clogged the southbound lanes of the highway for miles as other residents headed for the relative safety of Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the other side of the state.

About 150 miles south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was nearly a ghost town by Monday afternoon as an evacuation order took effect.

The few residents who could be found were racing against the clock to safeguard their buildings and belongings. None said they were staying.

The signs of Hurricane Ian’s devastation two years ago remain visible everywhere. Rebuilt homes stand next to others in various states of construction. There are numerous vacant lots, which were once rare.

Scenes from Fort Myers Beach as Hurricane Milton approaches

‘This whole street used to be filled out with houses,’ said Mike Sandell, owner of Pool-Rific Services.

His workers were removing and storing pumps and heaters from his clients’ pools so they wouldn’t get destroyed.

Home construction supplies like bricks, piping and even workers’ outhouses lined the streets, potential projectiles that could do further damage if a surge hits.

At the beach Monday afternoon, workers busily emptied the triple-wide trailer that houses The Goodz, a combined hardware, convenience, fishing supply, ice cream and beach goods store.

Owner Graham Belger said he moved his ‘Your Island Everything Store’ into the trailer after Ian destroyed his permanent building across the street.

‘We’ll rebuild, but it is going to be bad,’ he said.

Hurricane Milton is expected regain its Category 5 status today after dipping to Category 4, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The center warned that ‘Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida’ ahead of its anticipated landfall tomorrow.

‘Milton is still a relatively compact hurricane, but the wind field is expected to continue to grow in size as it approaches Florida.

‘In fact, the official forecast shows the hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds roughly doubling in size by the time it makes landfall.’

The storm is currently about 560 miles southwest of Tampa, moving east-northeast at 12mph.

Category 5 hurricanes have maximum sustained winds of more than 157mph.

Category 4s span 130-156mph.

The hurricane was upgraded to Category 5 on Monday, before being downgraded

Beds have been set up in a Florida stadium ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Milton.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in numerous counties as the state braces for the hurricane to land on Wednesday.

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management announced today that it had partnered with Uber to offer free rides to and from shelters in affected counties.

Those evacuating can use the promo code “MILTONRELIEF” on the Uber app for a ride to or from a shelter.

Kamala Harris issued an urgent warning to Floridians with Hurricane Milton expected to hit parts of the west coast tomorrow.

‘I cannot stress enough to all the folks in Florida, in the Tampa area, please listen to evacuation orders,’ she said.

‘Please listen to your local officials because I know a lot of folks out there have survived these hurricanes before.

‘This one is going to be very, very serious.’

Hurricane Milton is expected to hit parts of the west coast of Florida tomorrow, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Storm Surge Unit.

The storm presents an ‘extremely life threatening situation’, the NHC said, urging residents to follow local advice.

Florida Disaster is currently sharing details on localized evacuation orders here.

Authorities evacuate Holbox island tourists before Hurricane Milton lands in Quintana Roo on Monday

Holbox has been evacuated and a curfew brought in ahead of Milton’s arrival

Workers place sheets of wood over windows and glass doors to protect them from the strong winds expected with the arrival of Hurricane Milton in the hotel zone of Cancun

Hurricane Milton is expected to hit the west coast of Florida on Wednesday, the National Weather Service has warned.

Forecasters say the storm will continue to grow in size and remain ‘extremely dangerous’.

Residents in impacted areas should follow advice issued by local officials and evacuate immediately if instructed to do so.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published wild satellite images that show the speed and intensity with which Hurricane Milton ramped up into a Category 5, with speeds said to hit up to 180 miles per hour and gusts over 200.

The International Space Station also posted video as it flew over the storm on Monday morning as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico.

With Hurricane Milton hitting winds of up to 180 miles per hour and at such a high speed, scientists are wondering if the storm defies the five category system and should go up to a Category 6.

Florida’s Gulf Coast braced on Tuesday for the impact of Hurricane Milton’s near-record winds and expected massive storm surge, which could bring destruction to areas already reeling from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago and still recovering from Ian’s wrath two years ago.

Almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane warning early on Tuesday as the Category 5 storm and its 165mph winds crept toward the state at 9mph, sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico’s warm water.

The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record is 1980’s Allen, which reached wind speeds of 190 mph as it moved through the Caribbean and Gulf before striking Texas and Mexico.

The storm, which CNN called ‘the strongest on Earth in 2024,’ was described by an Orlando meteorologist as ‘nothing short of astronomical.’

‘I am at a loss for words to meteorlogically describe you the storms small eye and intensity,’ Noah Bergen said.

Bergen reported seeing wing gusts as high as 200 miles per hour with max sustained winds at 180 mph.

‘This is now the 4th strongest hurricane ever recorded by pressure on this side of the world. The eye is TINY at nearly 3.8 miles wide. This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.’

It has many asking if the storm can or should be classified as a Category 6.

While no official designation exists, scientist and author Michael E. Mann said that ‘#Milton might have actually breached the 192 mph “cat 6” cutoff.’

The five categories, based on wind speed ranges, were used to designate hurricanes since the 1970s with what’s known as the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, developed by engineer Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson.

The barrier for Category 5 storms is winds of 157 miles per hour.

Simpson said in 1999 that the scale doesn’t go past a Category 5 because they designed it to show the danger winds could cause buildings and to provide advice for those designing and constructing them.

Winds that would go past Category 5 would ’cause rupturing damages that are serious no matter how well it’s engineered.’

Retired scientist Jim Kossin told USA Today that a Category 5 that goes from 157 mph and beyond is ‘becoming more and more inadequate with time because climate change is creating more and more of these unprecedented intensities.’

Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.

That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.

Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear luck is about to run out for the region and its 3.3 million residents.

Social media video captured a stunning lightning strike in Cancun, which is located on the outer bands of Hurricane Milton as it makes its way toward Florida.

Parts of Mexico had to evacuate both residents and tourists earlier on Monday.

Multiple people have posted anecdotes of Floridians unable to afford the cost of either driving or flying their way out of the state ahead of Hurricane Milton.

‘I’ve had two people in the last HOUR tell me they can’t afford to evacuate for Hurricane Milton Never tell me low wages aren’t violent ever again,’ one user on X posted.

A Sarasota resident also claimed they lack the financial means to get out of the storm’s way.

‘I live in Sarasota, which is in the direct path of Hurricane Milton. They are evacuating my town, but there is no gas left to evacuate, and traffic is so bad that it could be more dangerous to try and evacuate at this point. What would you do if you were me?’

People in the replies to her post reassured her that gas stations did have fuel as people tried to leave.

Dozens of residents and tourists lined up with suitcases and other belongings to catch an evacuation ferry off Holbox Island, on the eastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Holbox, popular for its shallow seascapes, may be one of the closest points that Hurricane Milton brushes before moving toward Florida. The low-lying island tends to flood even with a light rain.

Off-and-on resident Marilú Macías was calm and smiling, but was afraid of what Milton could do to the island.

‘We are afraid something might happen to us. We´re going someplace safer,’ Macías said of herself and her daughters. ‘We decided it was best to leave the island.’

Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor pleaded with residents to evacuate her city before it is hit with what could be the worst storm in 100 years.

Castor, speaking to CNN Monday night, was asked what her message was to Tampa residents. She told them to prepare and get out of the evacuation zones before a drastic warning.

‘I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.’

She further promises those reluctant to leave that they ‘may have done that for other [storms], but there’s never been one like this.’

Castor, the city’s former police chief, claimed to have never given a warning like this before.

‘This is something that I have never seen in my life and anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen this before.’

President Joe Biden has spoken with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss preparations in Florida for the approaching Hurricane Milton and ongoing recovery efforts from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

The White House confirmed the president´s call with the governor after Vice President Kamala Harris earlier on Monday accused DeSantis of ‘playing political games’ and engaging in ‘political gamesmanship’ over the federal response to Helene.

Biden, according to the White House, asked DeSantis ‘to call him directly if there is anything that can be done to further support the response and recovery efforts.’

Harris´ office suggested earlier that DeSantis was dodging Harris, saying she reached out to the governor last week but the two never spoke.

DeSantis said that he ‘didn´t know that she had called’ and ‘they didn´t call me.’

Biden also spoke on Monday with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and received a detailed briefing from National Weather Service Director Ken Graham on the expected impact Milton will cause.

An Orlando-based meteorologist is sounding the alarm as Hurricane Milton strengthens ahead of its Wednesday landfall.

Noah Bergen with Fox 35 Orlando called the storm ‘nothing short of astronomical.’

‘I am at a loss for words to meteorlogically describe you the storms small eye and intensity,’ he said.

Bergen reported seeing wing gusts as high as 200 miles per hour with max sustained winds at 180 mph.

‘This is now the 4th strongest hurricane ever recorded by pressure on this side of the world. The eye is TINY at nearly 3.8 miles wide. This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.’

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are planning to relocate to the New Orleans area to prepare for Sunday´s game against the Saints with Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall along Florida´s west coast.

The Bucs intend to travel Tuesday and spend the rest of the week out of state instead of practicing as usual at the team´s training facility in Tampa.

Milton strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and could make landfall in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday.

The NHL´s Tampa Bay Lightning canceled Monday night´s scheduled preseason finale against the Nashville Predators. The game initially was rescheduled from Sept. 27 due to Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive damage in the region two weeks ago.

The Lightning open the regular season at Carolina on Friday. There was no immediate word on whether the team would evacuate to Raleigh, North Carolina, ahead of the storm.

The NBA´s Orlando Magic are on the road this week, playing at New Orleans on Monday night and at San Antonio on Wednesday.

College sports are being impacted, too, with UCF in Orlando announcing all home athletics events on Wednesday and Thursday have been canceled. That includes Wednesday´s volleyball match against Colorado, Thursday´s women´s soccer match against Arizona and the first day of the men´s tennis ITA Southeast Regionals on Thursday.

The school said Saturday’s Big 12 home football game vs. Cincinnati is still scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

Videos and photos posted to social media have begun to show the mass exodus from Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton, set to make landfall Wednesday morning.

One video showed sped-up shots as thousands left Sarasota up I-75 to escape the Sunshine State.

Another showed people getting out of Tampa Bay, the place where the National Weather Service claimed that if it continues on track, it will be the worst storm in a century.

National Weather Service officials in Tampa Bay warn that Hurricane Milton could be the worst storm to hit the city in 100 years.

The storm is on track to make landfall on Wednesday morning, with NWS posting a warning to social media Monday.

‘If the storm stays on the current track, it will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years. Please evacuate if told to do so.’

The graphic they provided showed the western coastline of Florida near Tampa/St. Petersburg bracing for a ‘Level 4’ impact.

That includes ‘water possibly reaching several miles inland’ and ‘extensive damage to marinas, docks and piers. Numerous small craft broken away, lifted onshore & stranded.’

Further graphics showed areas of the state at a ‘Level 3’ flooding rain threat, which means that ‘rivers and tributaries [could] overflow their banks in multiple places’ and rescues ‘may be necessary.’

The National Hurricane Center posted what it called its ‘Experimental Cone graphic’ for Hurricane Milton, showing how most of the central part of the state is on either Hurricane Warning or Hurricane Watch.

The National Hurricane Center has issued Storm Surge Warnings for the west coast of Florida as Hurricane Milton his winds of 180 miles per hour.

The bulleting is issued everywhere from Tampa

Bay to the coastline, with Tropical Storm Warnings for much of the area as well.

Further, a Storm Surge Watch has been issued for much of the southeast coast from Florida to South Carolina.

‘Milton Poses an Extremely Serious Threat to Florida and Residents Are Urged to Follow the Orders of Local Officials,’ the NHC said in a social media post.

Anna Paulina Luna has once again urged everyone in Florida’s hit zones to evacuate.

In a desperate X post, she wrote: ‘I am asking everyone to EVACUATE immediately. This is going to be a catastrophic hit.’

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has issued a dire warning to those living in the evacuation zones.

She told a news conference today: ‘This is the real deal here with Milton.

‘If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.’

The airline confirmed it has added an emergency flight for Caymanian students who are currently studying in Tampa or visiting.

Anyone wishing to purchase tickets should call Cayman Airways Reservations on 345-949-2311, 1-800-422-9626 or book online.

Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, and Jacksonville are in Hurricane Milton’s projected path of the destruction.

The Gulf Coast city of Tampa is set to be struck first, with Accuweather predicting the worst conditions for the city will prevail 8am Wednesday through 2am Thursday, with up to 12 inches of rain, 140mph winds, and storm surges of up to 15 feet.

Orlando is next on the hurricane’s hit list, with the worst conditions expected from 12pm Wednesday until 6am Sunday.

Accuweather warns residents in Fort Myers to brace for the worst of the storm from 8am Wednesday to 2am Monday, while Jacksonville locals should expect to see the direst impacts from 12pm Wednesday to 11am Thursday.

Seamen are pictured removing their boats from the ocean in Puerto Juarez, Quintana Roo State, on Monday, as the hurricane reached ‘explosive’ levels in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded the expected wind speed yet again as the hurricane intensified while tracking across the Gulf of Mexico.

The State Assistance Information Line went active mid Monday ahead of the storm barreling in.

Hurricane Milton will be the worst disaster that Florida has ever seen, a longstanding weatherman has warned.

David Hartman, who works for WAPT in neighboring Mississippi, wrote: ‘Sadly, this is shaping up to the worst natural disaster in modern history for Florida.’

His X post came after Milton was declared a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest type there is.

Milton is set to make landfall Wednesday. The most recent updates suggest the Tampa area could be hit by 15 foot storm surges and wind speeds of 175 mph.

Evacuation orders began at 10am Monday, with gas and flights selling out as locals began to flee.

Much of the area is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, with worried locals fearful Milton will obliterate properties badly damaged by the previous storm.

A woman is seen packing her car to leave St Petersburg in Florida Monday, ahead of Hurricane Milton

Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, has been converted into an evacuation shelter for people further west who have been ordered to leave their homes.

Lightning can be seen flickering in the eye of the hurricane, which is currently barreling through the Gulf of Mexico.

Meteorologists have warned the storm surge – the rise in seawater levels above the normal predicted astronomical tide – could reach as high as 15 feet on the west coast of Florida.

This marks an increase of six feet from predictions set earlier on Monday morning – indicating how quickly the storm is gathering pace as it barrels towards the Florida coast.

Milton is gathering steam as it courses east through the Gulf of Mexico where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday morning along Florida’s northwestern coast.

Watch DailyMail.com’s live tracker here.

The National Hurricane Center has warned Milton has strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane – the most severe classification on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

The eye of the storm is about 125 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 735 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, the agency said at 11:55 a.m ET.

Category 5 storms bring ‘catastrophic damage’ to communities, according to the center.

‘A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse,’ the center’s advisory reads.

‘Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months.

‘Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.’

Only four Category 5 hurricanes have hit the US mainland previously, including Hurricane Michael, which struck the Florida Panhandle in 2018.

‘If this storm surge is anything like the last week… Tampa is going to be f***ed,’ one local said in a TikTok video, while showing viewers the destruction left over from Helene on his street.

The National Hurricane Center has warned Milton is set to become a Category 5 hurricane – the most severe classification on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Category 5 storms bring ‘catastrophic damage’ to communities, according to the center.

The US flag has been seen flying upside down, the international sign of distress, outside a home in Treasure Island on the Gulf Coast, where the hurricane is expected to hit first.

The window has nearly closed for people to escape Tampa Bay by plane, where Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines ran out of Monday flights from Tampa to Atlanta at 10.30am Monday, with customers having to pay more than $800 for a roundabout flight to Washington DC instead.

Meanwhile, American Airlines is selling flights from Tampa to Atlanta for between $641 and $2,400, with only a couple of seats remaining on each plane.

Tampa International Airport will be closing at 9am Tuesday.

Meanwhile, gas stations are running out of gas, potentially preventing people from escaping by car.

Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has warned residents to comply with evacuation orders as officials expect ‘flooding up to nine feet in certain areas’ including Tampa Bay and the Barrier Islands.

‘This is coming directly at us as of right now,’ she said in a video message to residents.

‘We have super saturated ground because of the previous flooding from Helene.

‘This is going to be worse, and a lot of these people that are not with us now unfortunately are not with us because they chose to stay.

‘So please do not take this for granted, please leave.’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made a statement after declaring a state of emergency across much of Florida.

‘Tropical Storm Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida, current estimates are Wednesday at about 5pm but there’s still a lot of uncertainty on that,’ DeSantis said, speaking at the Emergency Operations Center.

‘I’d urge Floridians to take this storm very seriously – do not get wedded to the cone.’

The US government’s disaster relief agency, FEMA, said it has been the target of false claims and conspiracy theories about its response to Hurricane Helene.

FEMA faced intense criticism for allegedly being slow to act – as some residents even claimed they were left to fend for themselves after minor obstacles like a ‘road closed’ sign prompted officials to abandon efforts in their town.

‘It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,’ said FEMA boss Deanne Criswell.

‘It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state,’ she added, referring to North Carolina.

Republicans including Donald Trump have accused FEMA of intentionally withholding aid to people in red-voting areas.

Residents have been preparing for the incoming deluge, which meteorologists have warned could bring up to 15 inches of rain, by flood-proofing their homes.

Sandbags can be seen lining many properties in Sarasota – while the debris from Hurricane Helene which ravaged the area two weeks ago is still visible on the same streets.

The incoming Category 4 hurricane is expected to slam into many of the same areas hit by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago.

Residents have barely had time to recover from the last storm, which killed 230 people across the US, before evacuating or bunkering down for a second time.

Helene was the the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005 which killed more than 1,800 people – and meteorologists have warned Milton is expected to be even worse.

Tampa International Airport has announced it will be closing due to the hurricane.

‘We will suspend flight operations at 9am Tuesday and reopen when safe to do so,’ the airport said Monday morning.

Milton is expected to make landfall in Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Disney World in Florida has remained open to the public as of Monday despite being in the path of the hurricane.

The resort has taken some steps to prepare for the hurricane though, including barring people from making park reservations for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Disney has a track record of only closing under the direst conditions.

While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.

The latest model from the National Weather Service shows Milton making landfall in Tampa Bay on Wednesday afternoon. Six million people are currently under hurricane warnings.

Attorney General Ashley Moody asked residents who are refusing to evacuate to take measures which would help responders identify them if they perish in the hurricane.

‘You probably need to write your name in permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards,’ she warned at a news conference.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded Milton to a Category 4 hurricane early Monday morning.

This means Milton is expected to bring ‘catastrophic damage’, with winds of up to 156mph and storm surges of up to nine feet.

‘Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed,’ the National Hurricane Center said.

‘Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.’

The center issued a hurricane watch for Florida’s Gulf coast from Chokoloskee to the mouth of the Suwanee River, including Tampa Bay, as well as for the Dry Tortugas.

Meanwhile, a storm surge watch covers the Gulf coast from Flamingo northward to the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.

The Fort Myers/Naples/Cape Coral area of Florida on the I-75 towards Miami was almost at a standstill Tuesday morning as people tried to flee.

Similar scenes are also playing out on the I-4 towards Orlando and the NB I-75 out of Tampa.

Meteorology expert John Morales was on the verge of tears as he reported on what is to come for Florida live on NBC6.

‘It’s just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane. It has dropped– ‘ Morales said before pausing, visibly emotional.

‘It has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours,’ he continued. ‘I apologize. This is just horrific.’

‘Maximum sustained winds are 160 mph,’ Morales added. ‘And it is just gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico where the winds–I mean, the seas, are just so, incredibly, incredibly hot.

‘Record hot, as you might imagine. You know what’s driving that. I don’t need to tell you: global warming, climate change [are] leading to this and becoming an increasing threat for the Yucatan, including Merida and Progreso and other areas there.’

Florida residents have rushed to stock up on supermarket supplies in preparation for the incoming deluge.

Shelves have been left empty in one Walmart in the Gulf Coast city of Sarasota – one of the first places expected to be hit by the hurricane on Wednesday.