An incredible time-lapse video from NASA, taken above the eye of monster Hurricane Milton, shows the massive storm barreling toward Florida.
The footage, taken by an astronaut, illustrates the enormous size of the hurricane as it barrels towards the US coast, threatening a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St Petersburg, Florida.
One social media user said that from above, Hurricane Milton looked like the fictional storm system that threw the world into chaos in the movie Day After Tomorrow.
In Florida, terrified residents are rushing to safety after local officials issued a grim warning last night, advising residents to “run or die” before tomorrow’s monster storm brings raging winds and sprays walls of water inland.
The footage, taken by an astronaut, illustrates the enormous size of the hurricane as it barrels towards the US coast, threatening a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St Petersburg, Florida.
One social media user said that from above, Hurricane Milton looked like the fictional storm system that threw the world into chaos in the movie Day After Tomorrow.
The NASA images show the eye of Hurricane Milton and its vortices
Hurricane Milton, currently a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 miles per hour, continues to rage across the Gulf of Mexico on its way to Florida, shown on the GOES-East satellite at 10:09 GMT, October 8, 2024
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Drivers are stuck in traffic this morning as the state’s major highways are clogged with miles-long lines of cars trying to escape the danger line.
Traffic is backed up both northbound and southbound as locals seek shelter out of state and in Miami.
The window for people to flee the region by plane is also nearly closed, as airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando have already begun grounding flights.
Residents who have accepted that they cannot flee and are preparing to retreat have begun panic buying supplies and clearing store shelves of bottled water, toilet paper and other household essentials.
Those still desperately trying to escape and following evacuation orders say it may be too “dangerous” to hit the roads as local gas stations have run out of fuel.
However, Governor Ron DeSantis assured residents this morning that there is enough fuel to escape the storm.
Milton was so strong overnight that experts called for it to be given unprecedented Category 6 status, but the hurricane was downgraded to Category 4 early this morning.
Forecasters warn that Milton is “expected to grow in size” and will remain “an extremely dangerous hurricane” when it makes landfall tomorrow.
Milton expanded this morning as it barreled across the Gulf of Mexico toward Tampa — making it possibly “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record” for west-central Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Photos taken from the International Space Station show the enormous size of Hurricane Milton
Traffic is backed up this morning as we break out of the Ft Myers/Naples/Cape Coral area of Florida on I-75 towards Miami. Officials say similar scenes can be found on I-4 heading into Orlando and on NB I-75 out of Tampa
Nearly the entire west coast of Florida is under a hurricane warning this morning as Milton and its 155 mph winds creep toward the state
Milton is crawling towards Florida, sucking energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico
The hurricane’s 155 mph (250 km/h) winds extend further from the storm’s center, vastly increasing its capacity to cause widespread destruction.
Milton’s storms extended about 80 miles from the eye of the storm through Monday, increasing to just over 100 miles Wednesday morning.
“Milton is still a relatively compact hurricane, but its 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 that hurricane and tropical storm force winds will roughly double in magnitude by the time they make landfall.”
The storm center is expected to make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, which has not suffered a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century.
Mayor Jane Castor sharply warned residents yesterday that if they don’t evacuate, “you’re going to die.”
Locals have taken to social media to describe their fears as they struggle to evacuate from communities in Milton’s expected direct path.
Sharing drone footage of congested traffic along I-75 between Morris Bridge and Bruce B Downs, an you can get more out of Florida, otherwise there will be no gas. So you’re stuck outside of Gainesville.”
But DeSantis tried to allay fears this morning, telling a news conference: “There is no fuel shortage. Fuel continues to arrive in the state of Florida.”
