Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds on Wednesday, slamming into Florida's west coast before churning its way eastward across the center of the state.
The catastrophic landfall follows barely two weeks after Hurricane Helene, which battered Florida before causing devastation in North Carolina. Florida residents have spent the interim boarding up windows and evacuating their homes in preparation for Milton.
"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday.
The storm is expected to pass over Florida and into the Atlantic through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
Milton poses a threat of a historically deep storm surge, as well as wind gusts well over 100 mph over the next 36 hours. Storm surge forecasts along the central western coast are predicting 10 to 15 feet of water topped with devastating waves driven by hurricane-force winds, according to FOX Weather.
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"Yes, you might have ‘been through hurricanes before,'" FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross said. "But you weren't through the 1921 storm that put water over much of Pinellas County, or the 1848 hurricane that put 15 feet of Gulf water where downtown Tampa is today."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated thousands of National Guard members who are standing by to conduct search and rescue following the storm. President Biden's administration has also pre-deployed resources and hundreds of personnel.
Biden declared Florida a disaster area ahead of Milton's landfall to facilitate FEMA's preparations and response.
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The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned early Wednesday evening that the northern eyewall of Hurricane Milton had started to spread onshore along the Florida Gulf Coast, and told residents to "shelter in place as these extremely dangerous hurricane-force winds overspread the region."
Public Safety Information Manager for Florida’s Incident Support Team James Lucas warned that weather conditions will prevent rescuers from saving lives as Hurricane Milton makes landfall and wallops the state.
"Weather conditions will deteriorate so rapidly that rescue workers cannot get in," Lucas told Fox News Digital’s Gabriele Regalbuto. "That means that law enforcement officers are not going to be able to respond to any emergencies … as the storm is pushing through at 100 mph."
Lucas said the life safety of first responders and citizens is paramount.
"We’re not going to be able to make it into those affected areas during the storm," Lucas said. "That’s why the Mayor of Tampa, the Governor of Florida is asking people in those areas to evacuate."
