Hurricane Milton: Florida cities in lockdown with millions hit with curfews as eerie footage shows desolate beach towns bracing for monster storm

Hurricane Milton will make landfall on the coast of Florida late tonight, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The Florida peninsula could see 6 to 12 inches of rainfall, with localized totals up to 18 inches, through Thursday, the NHC has warned.

The graphic above shows the areas potentially being affected by the sustained winds of tropical storm force (in orange) and hurricane force (in red).

Holmes Beach police chief William Tokajer has warned stubborn residents who have refused to evacuate that 'this is not going to end well'.

'If you don't leave, you're on your own,' he said in an interview with CNN. 'Take a pen and write your name and social security number on your leg so that we have a contact if we find you.'

His remark echos that of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor who compares locals' homes to their 'coffin'.

Tokajer's advice is also similar to that of Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown who yesterday urged residents to seek shelter in a safe place. He told locals who opted to stay put to 'write your name on your arm so we can identify you'.

Millions of people across Florida are locked in a desperate race against time to evacuate before the 'storm of the century' smashes into Tampa late tonight, with the city's mayor warning those who are refusing to leave that their houses 'will be your coffin'.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor delivered a grave warning as she declared that the 15 feet (4.5 metres) of storm surge forecast for her city would be deep enough to submerge entire houses.

'So if you're in it, basically that's the coffin that you're in,' she said flatly.

Downtown Tampa is a ghost town Tuesday night as the city braces for the impact of Hurricane Milton

People board up windows on Tuesday as the old town of Ybor City in Tampa stands mostly empty as the state prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Milton

Parts of the city are mostly empty as Hurricane Milton approaches on October 08, 2024 in Tampa, Florida

Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood is mostly on Tuesday empty as Hurricane Milton approaches

President Joe Biden begged Florida residents to flee last night, warning that the Category 5 storm could turn into the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century.

Emergency workers are busy making last-ditch preparations, locking down communities, readying rescue trucks and placing flood barricades around vital infrastructure, including Tampa General Hospital, which is expected to bear the brunt of Milton's wrath when it hits around 7pm.

The National Guard has also been drafted in to help any residents in difficulty carry out desperate eleventh-hour evacuations.

Yet some residents have chosen to stay in their homes to ride out the punishing storm, even with the debris left by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago still lying by the roadside.

Social media users have claimed that Hurricane Milton has a 'ghostly' appearance.

The monster storm is tearing towards Florida's Gulf Coast today, leaving residents with one final day to evacuate or hunker down before the 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm is predicted to hit, triggering a life-threatening storm surge.

The National Hurricane Center has described Milton as a 'catastrophic' and "dangerous" major hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph), putting it at the highest level on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

Weather conditions are expected to start deteriorating in the afternoon, it said in an advisory overnight.

SpaceX and T-Mobile have 'accelerated' the rollout of Starlink to hurricane affected areas, Elon Musk has revealed.

The Tesla billionaire took to his social media platform X today, tweeting: 'We have accelerated the rollout of Starlink direct to cell phone connectivity for areas affected by the hurricanes. This is being provided free of charge by SpaceX and TMobile to help those in need.'

The US Federal Communications Commission on Sunday allowed the companies to enable Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability to provide coverage for cellphones in areas of North Carolina hard-hit by Hurricane Helene.

The FCC often grants such emergency temporary approvals during disasters to help restore wireless and internet services in badly impacted areas and to allow for testing.

The comission has also 'rapidly approved emergency special temporary authority for coverage in Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton', SpaceX explained.

Storm-battered Florida girded Tuesday for a direct hit from Hurricane Milton, a monster weather system threatening catastrophic damage.

Tampa General Hospital deployed an 'aquafence' on Tuesday to prevent storm-surge flooding when Milton arrives. The barrier can withstand a storm surge of 15 feet.

An AquaFence flood wall is put into place around Tampa General Hospital on Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected mid-week landfall.

Downtown Tamps is a ghost town Tuesday night after locals evacuated or hunkered down ahead of Milton's arrival.

Linemen gather in front of hundreds of utility trucks at The Villages, Florida on Tuesday in preparation for Hurricane Milton.

Debris from Hurricane Helene lines a street in the Redington Beach section of St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 8, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall.

Hurricane Milton is now roughly 300 miles southwest of Tamps, the National Hurricane Center has revealed.

Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida tonight or early tomorrow morning as a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 160mph.

Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties with a combined population of about 5.9 million people, according to US Census Bureau estimates.

Officials have warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, as first responders are not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm.

Orange County, where Mohammed Nijem's father in law Pedro Caceres lives, is not among those ordered to evacuate.

Caceres has gained attention on social media after a photograph was shared of his storm preparations - which included locking down his home with utility straps.

Pictured is Pedro Caceres' home yesterday, which is located in Orange County, east of Lake Baldwin, according to Spectrum News 13.

The National Hurricane Centre predicted Milton, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach, would likely weaken but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall today.

Milton was centred about 360 miles south-west of Tampa early this morning with maximum sustained winds of 160mph, the National Hurricane Centre reported.

Forecasters predicted the storm will retain hurricane strength as it crosses central Florida on Thursday on a path east toward the Atlantic Ocean.

The hurricane's precise track remains uncertain, as forecasters last night nudged its projected path slightly south of Tampa.

Here are the latest satellite pictures of Milton, captured at 2.51am EST.

Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who represents central Florida, has warned that Milton is a 'powerful storm' and 'deserves serious attention from everyone'.

He accompanied the NOAA Hurricane Hunters into the eye of the storm yesterday, during their eight-hour exploratory flight.

The group 'penetrated the eye three times', Frost claimed, adding: 'It was an extremely intense and educational experience.'

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall today, bringing with it a threat of possible tornadoes across Florida, the National Weather Service has warned.

Forecasters say that communities throughout the state - even those far from Milton's landfall - could be at risk of a twister.

Other threats from Milton include storm surge, high winds and inland flooding.

Several municipalities across Florida have announced curfews for people remaining while Hurricane Milton hits the state.

In Fort Myers Beach, a 24-hour daily general curfew began at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.

The city of Naples will begin a 'vehicle curfew' starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The island of Sanibel in Lee County will launch it's curfew at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

In Flagler County, a curfew will last at least 12 hours, from Wednesday at 7 p.m. to Thursday at 7 a.m.

Volusia County's cufew will being at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and is slated to end at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

Many appear to have already gotten out of town, as video showed empty streets in the beach town of Treasure Island as people have bailed to safety. Only a single car could be seen driving down the roads next to the ocean.

What remained noticable was wreckage left behind and not cleaned up from Hurricane Helene.

'The eerie calm before the storm feels surreal as families flee to safety. leaving behind a city bracing for the unknown. Stay strong, stay safe, and continue to heed the warnings to evacuate,' the city wrote on its own social media pages over footage showing a complete ghost town left to wait for Milton.

Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.

Thousands of fleeing cars clogged Florida's highways ahead of the storm, but time for evacuations was running out Wednesday. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor noted that up to 15 feet of storm surge forecast for her city would be deep enough to swallow an entire house.

'So if you´re in it, basically that´s the coffin that you´re in,' Castor said.

Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties with a combined population of about 5.9 million people, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Officials have warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, as first responders are not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm.

State and local governments scrambled ahead of the storm to remove piles of debris left in Helene's wake, fearing that the oncoming hurricane would turn loose wreckage into flying missiles. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state deployed over 300 dump trucks that had removed 1,300 loads of debris.

A shocking video posted from outside the town of Celestún in Yucatan, Mexico showed the horrifying conditions as Hurricane Milton heads toward Florida.

Sailors on the fishing boat 'Topoli' had to face the cyclone firsthand, though no one was harmed

.

'Fortunately, all crew members managed to return to land safe and sound,' the post reads in Spanish.

Kamala Harris called Hurricane Milton a 'different' storm to what had been seen before during her interview with Stephen Colbert Tuesday night.

Harris slammed Republicans for giving out 'misinformation' regarding FEMA over Hurricane Helene.

She then turned to Milton and said 'this one's gonna be different.'

'I ask, anybody who is watching, if you are in Florida, in the predicted path of this hurricane, if you got a family member who might think they can wait it out, please get in touch with them. Please follow your local leaders' instructions and if they're telling you to evacuate, grab your stuff and get out.'

Social media was shocked after seeing a radar look at Hurricane Milton that appeared to develop a face.

The video showed the storm appearing to develop a skull and even a nose as it spun toward Florida.

Others pointed out that a similar visage had been noticed from 2016's Hurricane Matthew.

Hurricane Milton's impact could be worse than the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as the storm returned to Category 5 status.

Meteorologists and data from the National Hurricane Center suggest that this could land among the ten most destructive storms ever in the Atlantic Ocean, eclipsing Katrina, which tore through New Orleans nearly 20 years ago.

Meteorologist Jim Cantore said all the data that came through Tuesday has done little 'to prevent the inevitable.'

'If you aren't taking the storm serious you need to ask yourself why,' he wrote on social media. 'Focus on the best possible outcome for your family and friends with this inevitable horror that is about to take place in Florida. Time is running out.'

South Florida meteorologist John Morales has spoken about the reaction to his breakdown live, on air, over the impact of the storm.

'It was just a mixture of empathy for those people, as well as the angst of increasingly frequent and more severe extreme weather events and just frustration over being a climate communicator for over 20 years and realizing this is happening and we knew it was coming,' Morales said.

Morales noted that before, he had been known as 'the non-alarmist, just facts meteorologist.'

But he further noted that the increase in intensity from the disasters and climate change has somewhat radicalized him.

'These symptoms of the changing climate has changed me from a cool cucumber to somebody that’s certainly more agitated and in a bit of dismay about what’s going on,' he said.

He also noted that he got an urgent bulletin from the National Hurricane Center saying the storm had become Category 5 just before he went on air.

The state of Florida is using prison inmates to fill sandbags ahead of Hurricane Milton.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said that the inmate crews 'are assisting residents that are not capable of filling their own sandbags.'

A Tampa-area man who lives on his boat said that he's going to ride out Hurricane Milton just as he did Helene.

The man, whose real name appears to be Joe or Jay according to his Tiktok but is known affectionately as 'Lieutenant Dan,' lives out at sea on his 20-foot sailboat and is not evacuating ahead of the storm.

I know that God didn’t bring me this far for something to happen to me,” Jay said in an interview with The Weather Channel.

'The more you go through it, the more you learn,' Jay told the reporter. 'I’m confident in my ability to ride it out unless it turns into a Wizard of Oz-type situation, and I wind up in Kansas.'

'Lieutenant Dan' supports his seafaring dreams with help from donors on Gofundme.

He has been asked to leave by law enforcement but he remains resolute.

'I’ll be here. I’ll see you Friday,' he said.

Experts are worried that Hurricane Milton could have permanent impact on the Florida coastline.

Kara Doran, a United States Geological Survey supervisory physical scientist, assessed what the coast could face from this storm.

'The significance of the coastal change forecast for Milton's impact to the Florida west coast cannot be overstated as I believe communities are more vulnerable to this storm's impacts due to the erosion that occurred recently from Helene,' Doran told ABC News.

The USGS estimated the storm surge will cause erosion on 100% of all ocean-facing beaches.

Sea levels across Florida are eight inches higher than they were in 1950 and that is continuing to grow.

The USGS claims erosion puts 'critical infrastructure at risk to future flooding and erosion and may cause economic losses,' according to the USGS.

The NOAA research plane known as 'Miss Piggy' flew into the middle of Hurricane Milton as the storm approaches.

'These flights collect critical data that helps improve forecasts and support hurricane research,' the NOAA said on social media.

'Miss Piggy' is one of two WP-3D Orions the NOAA uses, which includes a photo of the famous muppet diva. The other is, naturally, called 'Kermit.'

Disney World in Florida will begin to close its parks in anticipation of Hurricane Milton on Wednesday.

The park's Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom will close at 1 p.m. tomorrow, followed by closures of EPCOT, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney Springs at 2 p.m.

The closures are meant to allow park employees to return to their residencies and safety, the park announced.

Police in St. Petersburg, Florida broadcast as they attempted to evacuate a neighborhood ahead of Hurricane Milton.

The city, which is 23 miles from downtown Tampa Bay, is set to be directly in the path of the area's worst storm in a century.

Hurricane Milton remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg , engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene´s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

While the storm had previously weakened, the U.S. said Tuesday Hurricane Milton was once again a Category 5 storm.

The storm, located about 480 miles from Tampa as of about 5 p.m. EDT, has sustained wind speeds of 165 mph, the hurricane center said.

The hurricane center also extended a storm surge and hurricane warnings on Florida and Georgia's east coasts.

Around one in six gas stations in the Sunshine State are already out of fuel, according to tracking platform Gas Buddy.

It comes as millions of people rush to flee Hurricane Milton's projected path of destruction, which covers a vast swathe of Florida and several major cities including Tampa, Orlando and Fort Myers.

Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Haan gave advice for motorists struggling to find fuel.

'Best bets for motorists evacuating that need fuel: major travel stops have larger underground tanks and have more resources generally- trucks and drivers,' he wrote on X.

'Or large chains as well that have many locations. Fuel IS flowing but stations are having a hard time keeping up.'

Florida residents have been lining up for gas as millions hit the road to flee the Hurricane Milton danger zones.

Photographs show dark ominous clouds looming over Tampa, where Hurricane Milton will be making landfall early Thursday morning.

Residents close to the shoreline have been told to evacuate immediately. Millions have fled.

Dr Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards at Nottingham Trent University, raised the alarm about the potential for debris left over from Hurricane Helene causing additional chaos.

'Any debris left uncleared from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago may add to the risk by becoming projectiles in the severe winds forecast,' he told DailyMail.com.

'The authorities having been stressing that people living along this coast have no living memory of this kind of storm, need to evacuate if instructed to do so and to be somewhere safe by Tuesday night.

'Wind damage, heavy rain and flooding are anticipated inland as Milton crosses the Florida peninsula.'

As Floridians brace for the catastrophic arrival of Hurricane Milton, hotels across the region are capitalizing on the widespread misfortune by gouging their prices.

A Marriott hotel was offering a room for two nights this week for $548 per night - or $707 for guests wanting to park their cars.

Comparatively, the same room is available in November for $94 per night.

Two Hilton properties in Kingsland, Georgia have more than doubled their nightly rate for people seeking accommodation on Wednesday, October 9.

The rate is $233 and $291 respectively for the hotels, which are located off the I95. But if you're seeking a booking for Wednesday, October 26, just three weeks away, those prices drop to $116 and $115.

Another, the Hampton Inn and Suites in Brunswick, Georgia, was offering a room Wednesday night for $617.

Comparable rooms for a Wednesday night in November are available for as little as $131 in the same hotel.

A stunning Weather Channel simulation has shown just how deep the waters from Hurricane Milton could rise.

Host Stephanie Abrams stood on a CGI street for her report, and showed viewers how Tampa will look if hit by the widely-anticipated 15 foot storm surge.

Abrams began by showing viewers what a harmless-sounding three feet of water would look like. It sat above her waist, with the meteorologist warning that anyone still at home when the water hits this level will have left it too late to evacuate.

Moments later, the computerized water level rose to six feet - above Abrams' head, with cars and debris beginning to float around her.

Abrams then let the simulation rise above nine feet - well above her head. The raging torrent had hit the second floor of nearby homes.

She said: 'There are few places that are safe when the water rises this high.'

Current forecasts suggest Hurricane Milton could actually trigger storm surges of 15 feet, far higher than the frightening nine feet shown by the Weather Channel.

Winds from Milton are expected to crash into Tampa Bay Wednesday morning and will likely measure up to 129mph.

The storm surge - which is widely-regarded as being the most dangerous part of the hurricane - should arrive in the early hours of Thursday.

The simulation began on a Floridian-looking street being battered by heavy rain

Moments later, the host Stephanie Abrams explained that when the water hits three feet, it is too late to evacuate

Abrams showed the audience what six feet of water would look like, with the inundation over her head as cars begin to float

She finished the simulation with a terrifying nine foot storm surge. The surge caused by Miltion will likely reach a record-breaking 15 feet

Stunned viewers were shocked by how realistic and frightening the simulation was

A sign in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast, warns potential thieves not to try their luck on their partially-abandoned business premises.

Waffle House is closing restaurants across Charlotte County, Hillsborough County, Lee County, Manatee County, Pasco County, Pinellas County and Volusia County, a spokesperson revealed to DailyMail.com.

The southern US restaurant chain is a bellwether for the severity of storms, since it has a reputation for staying open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during extreme weather events.

'Our mission remains to keep our Associates out of harm's way,' Waffle House added in a statement.

'Accordingly, in areas predicted to be hardest hit, we will preemptively close restaurants with a goal of reopening them as soon as it is safe to do so to serve the communities that have there for us over the years.

'Locations in areas predicted to be in the path of Hurricane Milton and likely to suffer significant damage, or where mandatory evacuations have been ordered are places where preemptive closures will take place as a safety precaution. 

'We will follow local evacuation orders.'

Photographs show Waffle House closure signs in Milton and Port Richey.

'I cannot stress enough to all the folks in the Tampa area, please listen to evacuation orders, please listen to your officials.

'I know a lot of folks out there have survived these hurricanes before. This one is going to be very very serious.

'I urge you to please just grab whatever you need, listen to the orders you're getting from your local officials - they know what Milton is about to be.'

The City of St Augustine on the northeast coast of Florida has been placed under a mandatory evacuation order.

St Johns County, which encompasses the city, issued the warning to all 15,000 residents in the city, along with those in waterfront properties and flood-prone areas nearby.

Residents have been told to leave by 8am Wednesday 'due to the imminent threat posed by Hurricane Milton,' the county said in the evacuation directive.

Founded in 1565, St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States.

The below photographs show St Augustine shortly after Hurricane Helene barreled over Florida.

An astronaut has shared footage of the hurricane from space as it hurtled over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday morning.

Shoppers have descended on supermarkets in Orlando, which is due to be heavily impacted by Hurricane Milton in the coming days.

Floridians have rushed to stockpile supplies as they prepare to bunker down and weather the storm, or evacuate.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared a stunning image of Hurricane Milton from the window of his rocket on Tuesday morning.

'It could be one of the worst storms in 100 years... If you're under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now,' Biden warned residents in an announcement from the White House.

Webcam footage shows Clearwater Pier Beach in Tampa, which is set to be struck by Milton as it makes landfall on Wednesday night.

Normally a bustling tourist paradise famed for its brilliant white sands, the beach sat hauntingly empty Tuesday as Helene approaches.

Tampa's downtown was also pictured almost deserted, with neighboring Sarasota a ghost town too. Large swathes of the Tampa Bay area are under evacuation orders.

Many other locals who have not yet been asked to evacuate have chosen to leave the city anyway to guarantee their safety during the once-in-a-century hurricane.

Winds from Milton should arrive early Wednesday and could measure up to 129mph.

And the far more dangerous storm surge of up to 15 feet is forecast to arrive early Friday.

The record-breaking wall of water will destroy and drown anything in its path.

A webcam screengrab from Tuesday afternoon shows a deserted Clearwater Beach

A causeway into Sarasota - another famed beach town in Tampa Bay - was also near-deserted

Police in Treasure Island, which is in the middle of the danger zone for Hurricane Milton's path of destruction, have been cruising around the streets omitting an eerie final warning message to any residents still remaining.

'A local emergency currently exists,' a robotic male voice blares out. 'Quickly secure your home and business and safely evacuate the area. Listen to local media and authorities for additional information.'

The area of Pinellas County is under mandatory evacuation orders, as it is expected to be hit with 155mph winds and storm surges of up to 15 feet when Milton makes landfall on Wednesday night.

The National Weather Service has released a map showing the predicted storm surges for Florida's coastal areas.

The mid-section of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, is expected to be hardest-hit with surges of up to 15 feet.

Meanwhile, areas around Yankeetown, Anclote River, and Bonita Beach will see surges of up to 10 feet.

The surges diminish for areas further from the Tampa Bay danger zone - but the entire Gulf Coast and a large swathe of the east coast will experience a surge of some form.

Tampa Bay officials are shutting off access to running water ahead of Hurricane Milton barreling in.

Authorities in Manatee County said the 'necessary interruption of service' would 'ensure the utility infrastructure remains intact and to save the sewer lift stations' from the devastating impacts of the storm.

The county has also suspended trash pickup services.

In the Sarasota County city of Venice, faucets and even fire hydrants will be closed off from Tuesday evening.

This will continue throughout the duration of Milton's wrath over the county plus several more days.

'Once service is restored, you will be under a boil water advisory until you receive a notification stating the water is safe for consumption,' city officials said.

Tampa is especially vulnerable to the destructive impacts of hurricanes, meaning Milton could be catastrophic, according to Dr Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.

Dr Godby said this is thanks to a combination of the low-lying water close to Tampa Bay and its dense population and infrastructure.

'Tampa has long been regarded as the most vulnerable metropolitan area in the United States to storm surge flooding,' Dr Godby explained to DailyMail.com

'Direct hurricane strikes on the west coast of Florida are rare, but much of it is low-lying and the relatively shallow water offshore makes it vulnerable to large storm surges.

'The last major hurricane (Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) to affect the Tampa Bay region made landfall in on 25 October 1921, bringing a storm surge of 3-3.5 metres and winds of 185 km/h that caused losses that today would be $180 million.

'With Hurricane Milton bearing down on Tampa it is worth noting that the population at that time was around 160,000 and has now swelled to over three million, many living on ground less than three metres above sea level.

'Large numbers of homes, schools, government buildings and critical infrastructure are at risk of flooding and wind damage.'

Dr Godby added that the debris left over by Hurricane Helene which struck the region two weeks ago also poses an additional risk of projectiles being whipped up by severe winds.

'The authorities having been stressing that people living along this coast have no living memory of this kind of storm, need to evacuate if instructed to do so and to be somewhere safe by Tuesday night,' he said.

Floridians are doing their best to protect their homes and businesses from Milton's incoming onslaught, deploying sandbags and boarding up their windows.

Many have been told to leave immediately, and it's uncertain what they'll return to - as the severe hurricane is expected to cause 'catastrophic damage' to well-built structures, the National Hurricane Center has warned.

Lightning can be seen flickering in the eye of Hurricane Milton, which is currently barreling through the Gulf of Mexico.

Milton expanded this morning as it hurtled over the Gulf of Mexico towards Tampa - making it potentially 'one of the most destructive hurricanes on record' for west-central Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane's 155mph winds are becoming more wide-reaching from the center of the storm - vastly increasing its capacity to cause widespread destruction.

Milton's gales extended around 80 miles from the eye of the storm through Monday, and this increased to just over 100 miles by Wednesday morning.

'Milton is still a relatively compact hurricane, but the wind field is expected to continue to grow in size as it approaches Florida,' the National Hurricane Center said.

'In fact, the official forecast shows the hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds roughly doubling in size by the time it makes landfall.'

The Fort Myers/Naples/Cape Coral area of Florida on the I-75 towards Miami was almost at a standstill Tuesday morning as people tried to flee.

Similar scenes are also playing out on the I-4 towards Orlando and the NB I-75 out of Tampa.

Tampa's airport closed indefinitely from 9am Tuesday, meaning residents can no longer evacuate by plane.

It comes as traffic is gridlocked on many major routes out of the city, as well as in Orlando and Fort Myers - the other Florida metro areas projected to be severely impacted by the hurricane.

The photographs below show the airport after its closure, with stranded passengers set to be bussed to shelters.