Earlier this week, it reached Category 5 strength over the Gulf Coast.
The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, is facing the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.
As many as two million across Florida were ordered to evacuate, and millions more were directly in the projected path of Milton, which strikes just two weeks after Helene cut a swath of devastation through Florida and several other states.
Hurricane Milton is hurtling towards Florida and is set to make landfall within hours, bringing “incredible destructiveness” that could wipe out entire communities.