Flights between the UK and Florida have been grounded as the US braces for the arrival of category five Hurricane Milton.
More than a million people are fleeing Florida just weeks after the devastation by Hurricane Helene.
With its winds reaching 180mph as it barreled across the Gulf of Mexico towards the heart of Florida, Milton could be the most destructive storm in a century.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said there was an increasing risk of a life-threatening storm surge on the west coast, and heavy rainfall and high winds are expected to impact large parts of Florida.
Given the potential destruction, Orlando International Airport said it would cease commercial passenger operations at 8am on Wednesday, adding that commercial flights would resume ‘as soon as possible based on damage assessment’.
Tui said it expected flights ‘to be extremely disrupted’, with Melbourne Orlando International Airport closing to commercial flights at 2pm on Wednesday and reopening at 9am on Friday.
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The travel company said it had cancelled a flight to Melbourne Orlando from Gatwick on Wednesday and was ‘contacting customers directly to discuss their options’.
Virgin Atlantic said it had also cancelled numerous flights because of ‘adverse weather conditions expected to be caused by Hurricane Milton’, with a state of emergency declared in Florida.
Milton has exploded into a catastrophic category five hurricane – the highest possible rating.
Such hurricanes carry wind speeds greater than 155mph and can cause ‘very severe and extensive damage’, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (Noaa).
‘A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse,’ the organisation says.
‘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.’
The airline cancelled two flights on Tuesday between Heathrow and Tampa, and nine on Wednesday, including ones between Manchester and Orlando.
Another 10 flights have been axed on Thursday, involving Heathrow, Manchester, Orlando and Tampa.
As flights are getting called off, highways have been jammed for about 48 hours as residents in Florida follow the evacuation orders.
‘Over a million’ are under orders to leave the area, Florida Division of Emergency Management executive director Kevin Guthrie told AccuWeather on Tuesday morning.
Many residents in Tampa Bay, where Milton is forecast to make a direct hit, boarded up their homes and stores.
President Joe Biden urged Floridians to ‘evacuate now, now, now’, and postponed his trip to Germany and Angola to watch over the storm.
‘This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century,’ he said on Tuesday.
‘And God willing, it won’t be, but that’s what it’s looking like right now.’
Biden said that he directed his team to ‘do everything you can to save lives and our communities, help our community before, during and after these extreme weather events’.
The Tampa are could see storm surges up to 15 feet and warnings covered most of Florida’s Gulf coast.
Amid the evacuation chaos, a small plane attempting to flee crashed into Tampa Bay and four people and a small dog were rescued.
Milton on Monday was a Category 5 storm so powerful that it reignited discussions around creating a Category 6 designation.
Late Monday, meteorologist Noah Bergren said that Milton had sustained winds of 180mh and gusts exceeding 200mph.
‘This is nothing short of astronomical,’ said Bergren.
‘I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe to you the storm’s small eye and intensity.
‘This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.’
Milton was downgraded to a Category 4 on Tuesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 155mph, which is just below the Category 5 threshold of 157mph winds or higher.
Categories from 1 to 5 run in increments of about 20mph, but stop at 5 which is designated at 157mph or higher in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale developed by a civil engineer in 1971.
Earlier this years, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Space Science and Engineering Center researchers said that a Category 6 should be added for wind speeds over 192mph because climate change could trigger such storms.
But in February, the National Hurricane Center said it does not plan to modify the existing scale.
There is no evidence that including a Category 6 ‘would improve preparation or decisions’, said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter.
On Monday, weatherman John Morales teared up on live TV as warned viewers of the ‘horrific’ approaching hurricane.
‘Even though it is expected to weaken upon approach, it is so incredibly strong right now,’ said Porter.
But other forecasts predicted that Milton would strengthen again as it makes its expected landfall on late Wednesday or early Thursday.
By Tuesday late afternoon, that happened. Milton strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane with winds recorded at 165mph, the National Hurricane Center said at 5pm.
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