Developments, but we begin at the Weather Map with al roker. As if the threat of this potentially historic Storm Isnt enough, were already seeing tornadoes. Thats right. And this was kind of the worst case scenario, chris, because we were talking about this for the last two days. We were going to see these tornadoes, especially as it approached, and sure enough thats what happened. Lets show you what weve got going on right now. As far as our map is concerned, we are looking at a category 4 storm. 150 miles now southwest of tampa. Its got 130 miles per hour winds. Its moving northeast at 16 miles per hour. Now, as we look, you can see we have Tornado Watches now from Daytona Beach all the way down to key west. Weve had reports of 50 tornadoes so far in the last couple of hours. And now we have numerous, multiple Tornado Warnings going on to the west, i should say the east of tampa and sarasota, to the west of West Palm Beach, and right between West Palm Beach and Fort Myers. These are
Before making landfall earlier Than expecTed TonighT in florida. ForecasT To bring up To 15 feeT of lifeThreaTening STorm Surge To some regions, up To 18 inches of rain in areas like Tampa, and caTasTrophic, susTained winds. AT This hour, parTs of florida are already feeling The effecTs as milTon grows in size and moves closer To The WesT CoasT. More Than 1 Million people are under mandaTory evacuaTion orders. Thousands are sTill fleeing The sTaTe in search of higher ground, as The window To geT ouT sTarTs To close, and resources dwindle. As of This morning, 60 of Tampa Bays Service sTaTions reporTed They are compleTely, compleTely ouT of gas. And now Tornadoes like This one in broward counTy, hundreds of miles from milTons core. This is new video of IT Crossing i75 Today. Ill speak wiTh one of floridas mayors, The One who has rode ouT a whole loT of sTorms since The mid70s in a momenT. WhaT he says milTon could do. FirsT, leT us geT To our reporTers. Joining us now, nbc News Correspon
Hi there, everyone. Its 4 00 in New York. At this hour, millions of people along Floridas Gulf Coast are bracing for one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in The Atlantic basin. The outer bands of Hurricane Milton are already hitting parts of the state. It is forecast to make landfall some time tonight between 10 00 p. M. Eastern and 2 00 a. M. And is expected to double in size before making landfall. This is the scene right now in ft. Myers, florida, being battered by high winds and rain. The top concern for officials at this moment is making sure that residents get to safety. The window for evacuating is now rapidly closing. Even as the storm is already complicating those efforts. This video shows a tornado touching down near i75 in south florida, thats hundreds of miles from Hurricane Miltons core. Just a few hours ago, president Joe Biden called Hurricane Milton, quote, the storm of the century. And made a plea to people in the Storms Path to please evacuate. First, man
Been cancelled, ahead of its landfall, which is expected to bring strong winds of up to 165 mph, 270 kph. Milton comes just days after hurricane helene tore through the southeastern us; 225 people were killed by the natural disaster across six states. The back to back storms are expected to leave historic levels of damage that could take years to recover from. Unlike helene, milton will only pass through florida on its way to the atlantic ocean, making the sunshine state the only one to be affected twice. President biden has postponed a trip to germany to oversee preparations and prepare a federal response. He urged those in milton s path to evacuate, calling it a matter of life and death. Our correspondent gordon corera sent this report from tampa in florida. An exodus from tampa. Long lines of traffic snaking out of the city tell you that the warnings are being taken seriously here. Florida is used to hurricanes, but the message has been that this time is different. The city is still
We start in the united states, where hurricane milton has re strengthened to a category five storm, as it barrels straight towards florida. People there are evacuating en masse, ahead of wednesday s projected landfall. The national hurricane center says the storm has doubled in size since tuesday. Local authorities and weather experts say milton will bring you a destructive storm surge, and some areas will not be survivable. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled. It s expected to bring strong winds of up to 165 mph or 270 kph. Milton comes just days after hurricane helene tore through the south eastern us; 225 people were killed across six states. The back to back storms are expected to leave historic levels of damage that could take years to recover from. Unlike helene, milton will only pass through florida on its way to the atlantic ocean. President biden has postponed a trip to germany to oversee preparations and prepare a federal response. He urged those in milton s path to evacu