"Milton has the potential to become one of Florida’s most damaging and costly hurricanes," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said, with life-threatening dangers including an extreme storm surge of 10-15 feet and destructive winds.

Florida is bracing as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 1 storm on Sunday, days before it’s expected to make landfall on the state’s Gulf Coast where communities are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene.

Florida on Sunday prepared for the state's largest evacuation since 2017 as Tropical Storm Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its path toward Florida's western coast, coming on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Helene.