Hurricane Milton has been called the storm of the century and Florida is to be hit with winds speeds of least 180mph.
Millions have been forced to evacuate their homes as wind speeds pick up with a at least a 15ft storm surge.
Experts have said the storm is life threatening and a “state of emergency has been declared” in Florida.
The Mayor of Tampa warned people to evacuate warning that if you refuse “your house will be your coffin,” and if you stay “you are going to die.”
Jane Castor told residents if you have not left then evacuate now, she warned, “This isn’t a drill. This is the biggest storm that we have certainly seen here in the Tampa area in over a century.
“Whenever that storm surge comes and it’s 10 to 15 feet and people are trying to ride this out in single story structures — there’s no place to go. And when winds get up to hurricane speeds, there’s nobody to come and get you.”
CNN reported that meteorologist Derek Van Dam warned, “We are only a matter of hours until we experience tropical storm force winds in this region, and it’s only a matter of hours before we start to see the water levels start to come up.”
He said Hurricane Milton is “one of the most powerful top ten Atlantic basin hurricanes to ever form.”
Later on Wednesday afternoon storm was downgraded to a category 4 with wind speeds of up to 155mph.
The National Hurricane Centre warned Milton is “expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida tonight.”
National Hurricane Center forecasters warned that Milton is “expected to be a dangerous major hurricane” when it reaches the coastline of Florida.
