National Weather Service issues terrifying Hurricane Milton update as the ‘extremely life-threatening’ storm is declared the worst in 100 years

National Weather Service officials in Tampa Bay warn that Hurricane Milton could be the worst storm to hit the city in 100 years.

The storm is on track to make landfall on Wednesday morning, with NWS posting a warning to social media Monday.

‘If the storm stays on the current track, it will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years. Please evacuate if told to do so.’

The graphic they provided showed the western coastline of Florida near Tampa/St. Petersburg bracing for a ‘Level 4’ impact.

That includes ‘water possibly reaching several miles inland’ and ‘extensive damage to marinas, docks and piers. Numerous small craft broken away, lifted onshore & stranded.’

The National Hurricane Center posted what it called its ‘Experimental Cone graphic’ for Hurricane Milton, showing how most of the central part of the state is on either Hurricane Warning or Hurricane Watch.

The National Hurricane Center has issued Storm Surge Warnings for the west coast of Florida as Hurricane Milton his winds of 180 miles per hour.

The bulleting is issued everywhere from Tampa

Bay to the coastline, with Tropical Storm Warnings for much of the area as well.

Further, a Storm Surge Watch has been issued for much of the southeast coast from Florida to South Carolina.

‘Milton Poses an Extremely Serious Threat to Florida and Residents Are Urged to Follow the Orders of Local Officials,’ the NHC said in a social media post.

Anna Paulina Luna has once again urged everyone in Florida’s hit zones to evacuate.

In a desperate X post, she wrote: ‘I am asking everyone to EVACUATE immediately. This is going to be a catastrophic hit.’

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has issued a dire warning to those living in the evacuation zones.

She told a news conference today: ‘This is the real deal here with Milton.

‘If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.’

The airline confirmed it has added an emergency flight for Caymanian students who are currently studying in Tampa or visiting.

Anyone wishing to purchase tickets should call Cayman Airways Reservations on 345-949-2311, 1-800-422-9626 or book online.

Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, and Jacksonville are in Hurricane Milton’s projected path of the destruction.

The Gulf Coast city of Tampa is set to be struck first, with Accuweather predicting the worst conditions for the city will prevail 8am Wednesday through 2am Thursday, with up to 12 inches of rain, 140mph winds, and storm surges of up to 15 feet.

Orlando is next on the hurricane’s hit list, with the worst conditions expected from 12pm Wednesday until 6am Sunday.

Accuweather warns residents in Fort Myers to brace for the worst of the storm from 8am Wednesday to 2am Monday, while Jacksonville locals should expect to see the direst impacts from 12pm Wednesday to 11am Thursday.

Seamen are pictured removing their boats from the ocean in Puerto Juarez, Quintana Roo State, on Monday, as the hurricane reached ‘explosive’ levels in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded the expected wind speed yet again as the hurricane intensified while tracking across the Gulf of Mexico.

The State Assistance Information Line went active mid Monday ahead of the storm barreling in.

Hurricane Milton will be the worst disaster that Florida has ever seen, a longstanding weatherman has warned.

David Hartman, who works for WAPT in neighboring Mississippi, wrote: ‘Sadly, this is shaping up to the worst natural disaster in modern history for Florida.’

His X post came after Milton was declared a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest type there is.

Milton is set to make landfall Wednesday. The most recent updates suggest the Tampa area could be hit by 15 foot storm surges and wind speeds of 175 mph.

Evacuation orders began at 10am Monday, with gas and flights selling out as locals began to flee.

Much of the area is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, with worried locals fearful Milton will obliterate properties badly damaged by the previous storm.

A woman is seen packing her car to leave St Petersburg in Florida Monday, ahead of Hurricane Milton

Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, has been converted into an evacuation shelter for people further west who have been ordered to leave their homes.

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

Meteorologists have warned the storm surge – the rise in seawater levels above the normal predicted astronomical tide – could reach as high as 15 feet on the west coast of Florida.

This marks an increase of six feet from predictions set earlier on Monday morning – indicating how quickly the storm is gathering pace as it barrels towards the Florida coast.

Milton is gathering steam as it courses east through the Gulf of Mexico where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday morning along Florida’s northwestern coast.

Watch DailyMail.com’s live tracker here.

The National Hurricane Center has warned Milton has strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane – the most severe classification on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

The eye of the storm is about 125 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 735 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, the agency said at 11:55 a.m ET.

Category 5 storms bring ‘catastrophic damage’ to communities, according to the center.

‘A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse,’ the center’s advisory reads.

‘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.’

Only four Category 5 hurricanes have hit the US mainland previously, including Hurricane Michael, which struck the Florida Panhandle in 2018.

‘If this storm surge is anything like the last week… Tampa is going to be f***ed,’ one local said in a TikTok video, while showing viewers the destruction left over from Helene on his street.

The National Hurricane Center has warned Milton is set to become a Category 5 hurricane – the most severe classification on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Category 5 storms bring ‘catastrophic damage’ to communities, according to the center.

The US flag has been seen flying upside down, the international sign of distress, outside a home in Treasure Island on the Gulf Coast, where the hurricane is expected to hit first.

The window has nearly closed for people to escape Tampa Bay by plane, where Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines ran out of Monday flights from Tampa to Atlanta at 10.30am Monday, with customers having to pay more than $800 for a roundabout flight to Washington DC instead.

Meanwhile, American Airlines is selling flights from Tampa to Atlanta for between $641 and $2,400, with only a couple of seats remaining on each plane.

Tampa International Airport will be closing at 9am Tuesday.

Meanwhile, gas stations are running out of gas, potentially preventing people from escaping by car.

Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has warned residents to comply with evacuation orders as officials expect ‘flooding up to nine feet in certain areas’ including Tampa Bay and the Barrier Islands.

‘This is coming directly at us as of right now,’ she said in a video message to residents.

‘We have super saturated ground because of the previous flooding from Helene.

‘This is going to be worse, and a lot of these people that are not with us now unfortunately are not with us because they chose to stay.

‘So please do not take this for granted, please leave.’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made a statement after declaring a state of emergency across much of Florida.

‘Tropical Storm Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida, current estimates are Wednesday at about 5pm but there’s still a lot of uncertainty on that,’ DeSantis said, speaking at the Emergency Operations Center.

‘I’d urge Floridians to take this storm very seriously – do not get wedded to the cone.’

The US government’s disaster relief agency, FEMA, said it has been the target of false claims and conspiracy theories about its response to Hurricane Helene.

FEMA faced intense criticism for allegedly being slow to act – as some residents even claimed they were left to fend for themselves after minor obstacles like a ‘road closed’ sign prompted officials to abandon efforts in their town.

‘It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,’ said FEMA boss Deanne Criswell.

‘It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state,’ she added, referring to North Carolina.

Republicans including Donald Trump have accused FEMA of intentionally withholding aid to people in red-voting areas.

Residents have been preparing for the incoming deluge, which meteorologists have warned could bring up to 15 inches of rain, by flood-proofing their homes.

Sandbags can be seen lining many properties in Sarasota – while the debris from Hurricane Helene which ravaged the area two weeks ago is still visible on the same streets.

The incoming Category 4 hurricane is expected to slam into many of the same areas hit by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago.

Residents have barely had time to recover from the last storm, which killed 230 people across the US, before evacuating or bunkering down for a second time.

Helene was the the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005 which killed more than 1,800 people – and meteorologists have warned Milton is expected to be even worse.

Tampa International Airport has announced it will be closing due to the hurricane.

‘We will suspend flight operations at 9am Tuesday and reopen when safe to do so,’ the airport said Monday morning.

Milton is expected to make landfall in Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

The resort has taken some steps to prepare for the hurricane though, including barring people from making park reservations for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Disney has a track record of only closing under the direst conditions.

While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.

The latest model from the National Weather Service shows Milton making landfall in Tampa Bay on Wednesday afternoon. Six million people are currently under hurricane warnings.

Attorney General Ashley Moody asked residents who are refusing to evacuate to take measures which would help responders identify them if they perish in the hurricane.

‘You probably need to write your name in permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards,’ she warned at a news conference.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded Milton to a Category 4 hurricane early Monday morning.

This means Milton is expected to bring ‘catastrophic damage’, with winds of up to 156mph and storm surges of up to nine feet.

‘Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed,’ the National Hurricane Center said.

‘Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.’

The center issued a hurricane watch for Florida’s Gulf coast from Chokoloskee to the mouth of the Suwanee River, including Tampa Bay, as well as for the Dry Tortugas.

Meanwhile, a storm surge watch covers the Gulf coast from Flamingo northward to the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.

Meteorology expert John Morales was on the verge of tears as he reported on what is to come for Florida live on NBC6.

‘It’s just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane. It has dropped– ‘ Morales said before pausing, visibly emotional.

‘It has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours,’ he continued. ‘I apologize. This is just horrific.’

‘Maximum sustained winds are 160 mph,’ Morales added. ‘And it is just gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico where the winds–I mean, the seas, are just so, incredibly, incredibly hot.

‘Record hot, as you might imagine. You know what’s driving that. I don’t need to tell you: global warming, climate change [are] leading to this and becoming an increasing threat for the Yucatan, including Merida and Progreso and other areas there.’

Florida residents have rushed to stock up on supermarket supplies in preparation for the incoming deluge.

Shelves have been left empty in one Walmart in the Gulf Coast city of Sarasota – one of the first places expected to be hit by the hurricane on Wednesday.