The Milton storm — now a category five hurricane — is forecast to make landfall Wednesday evening in Florida.
In a matter of a few hours, Milton “explosively intensified” with fierce 175 mph winds.
As many as 15 million people are under flood watches across the Florida Peninsula and 11 million are at risk for tropical tornadoes tomorrow and Wednesday.
The hurricane center issued a storm surge warning for Florida’s Gulf Coast early Monday.
“A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline,” the agency said.