Ben Rich
BBC Weather

The US air force’s “Hurricane Hunters” – aircraft that fly into the heart of hurricanes to take measurements – have found that Milton is strengthening once again.

Sustained winds in the centre of the storm are now estimated to be about 155mph (250km/h) with stronger gusts.

This makes Milton a top-end category four hurricane.

The intensity of the storm is forecast to wax and wane slightly between now and when it makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday night.

But regardless of the exact numbers, the US National Hurricane Center expects it to remain an “extremely dangerous hurricane” and is warning residents who have been told to evacuate that Tuesday is their last full day to do so.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

Hundreds of flights to and from Florida have been cancelled ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall in the state, according to data from FlightAware.

At Tampa International Airport, 158 outgoing flights were called today, along with 188 incoming flights - a total of 346 flights.

Another 378 flights into and out of Tampa have already been cancelled for Wednesday.

The figure is even greater for flights to Orlando, with a total of 781 Wednesday flights already cancelled.

US airlines waived change fees and fare differences for passengers impacted by the storms.

Several airlines also flew additional aircraft to Florida ahead of the hurricane's strike for passengers who were seeking to leave before it strikes.

Matt Taylor
BBC Weather Lead Presenter

Milton is still forecast to make landfall as a Category three or four Major Hurricane during Wednesday night.

However, given the size of Milton, tropical storm force winds of between 40 and 73 mph (117km/h) will already be arriving on the east Florida coast from mid-late morning on Wednesday - accompanied by torrential rain.

Nasa astronaut Matthew Dominick has shared some incredible timelapse video of Hurricane Milton from space.

The video was filmed as the International Space Station was flying by Hurricane Milton about 14:45 BST.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor says Joe Biden wanted to have "everything we needed" ahead of Milton's landfall in Florida.

At a news conference, Castor said she spoke to Biden for about 30 minutes hours and stressed the need for additional resources to clear potentially dangerous debris.

"Our needs aren't great, but in the recovery portion we'll definitely need help," she added.

Castor said that Milton's storm surge will likely be "something you only really see in the movies".

There is currently no estimate of the number of people who have chosen to remain to shelter in place, despite repeated warnings from authorities.

"What we can hope for is that the storm goes a bit south," she said. "If a storm surge comes into Tampa Bay, it has nowhere to go. It's in our neighbourhoods."

Authorities in Tampa, Florida, are giving an update ahead of Hurricane Milton, and they are all stressing how bad this storm could be.

Police Chief Lee Bercaw says he cannot send officers out at the peak of the storm, so people need to follow the mandatory evacuations.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before, this is the storm of the century,” he says.

The police chief also pleads with residents to remain calm, particularly at gas stations where there could be long waits as people try to leave the path of the storm.

He asks to not “tie up officers” at gas stations with “minor disturbances”.

We're hearing now that a US Air Force base, located around four miles (6.4km) southwest of Tampa, has been evacuated as Florida prepares for Hurricane Milton.

Personnel at the MacDill base are relocating to other undisclosed sites to maintain 24/7 operations, and tankers - usually at the base - have been flown elsewhere.

Around 6,600 military and civilian personnel staff the base.

The temporary closure of the base was also announced on their Facebook page yesterday, external, when its airfield was closed.

Image source, Getty Images

We just heard Biden say that Hurricane Milton could be one of the worst storms in the US for the past 100 years, so we've taken a look at the most intense storms to have hit the US in the last century.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) hurricane database shows that at least 40 storms in the Atlantic have reached category five status since 1924.

Five storms in the past 100 years have hit land at strength:

• Hurricane Camille crashed into Mississippi in 1969, producing a peak storm surge of 24ft and destroying almost everything along the coast. It killed 259 people, most of them in Virginia, and caused about $1.4bn (£1.06bn) in damage
• Hurricane Andrew hit southern Florida in 1992 with sustained wind speeds of up to 165mph and gusts as high as 174mph. 26 people were killed. Dozens of other deaths are believed to have been caused by the storm. After causing $30bn in damage, it was considered the costliest natural disaster in US history at the time
• Hurricane Michael hit Florida in 2018 with 160mph wind speeds and was the strongest storm to make landfall in the state. At least 74 deaths were attributed to the storm - 59 in the US and 15 in Central America - and it caused damaged estimated at $25.1bn (£19.17bn)
• Milton comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the US. Helene killed more than 200 people and become the deadliest hurricane to strike the US mainland since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster in which nearly 2,000 people died

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden has just concluded his updates on Hurricane Milton, here are the key takeaways from his address:

• Biden said that Hurricane Milton could be one of the worst storms in the US for 100 years
• Floridians living in areas under an evacuation order have been urged by the President to leave immediately as “a matter of life and death”

• The president says he spoke to all political leaders in the region, and told them "anything they ask for, they could get”

• Winds have already hit 180mph, and a storm surge could reach up to 15ft - which Biden calls “devastating”

• Hurricane Milton could enter Florida as a hurricane and also leave as one, with devastation set to be prolonged, the president warns
• When questioned on disinformation in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Biden said "it's unAmerican"

Biden is asked about the dangers of misinformation spread by political leaders in the wake of a potential climate disaster, as seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Republican candidate for president Donald Trump has been accused of spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Helene, including misleading comments about how relief money has been spent, as well as how much assistance is available to impacted residents.

Biden responds by saying that “those that do it, do it to try and damage the administration”.

“But it misleads people … it’s unAmerican,” he adds. “People are scared to death. People know that their lives are at stake”.

For more information on this, BBC's Verify team have created this piece on Trump's comments on how relief money has been spent.

Image source, Getty Images

Biden says the "time to evacuate is now, now, now" as he stresses that residents in the path of Hurricane Milton need to follow official's instructions.

He adds people should already have evacuated as he insists "it's a matter of life and death."

As we've been reporting Biden says the potential scale and impact of Hurricane Milton could be 'devastating".

The president says there is the "potential for this storm to both enter Florida as a hurricane, and leave Florida as a hurricane on the Atlantic coast."

He then reiterates the assertion that it could be the deadliest storm "in a century".

"God willing it won't be but that's what it's looking like right now," he adds.

Biden continues to say it's clear how dangerous Hurricane Milton could be.

He adds "you never know" to anticipate until it happens, as "we prepare for another catastrophic storm about to make landfall".

Biden says winds have hit 180mph - but it is not guaranteed it will hit the shore at this speed - and a storm surge could be up to 15 ft, which he says would be "devastating".

Biden says he has told all political leaders in the area that federal assistance will be provided to them should they need it.

“I’ve told them anything they ask for they could get,” Biden says.

He adds that he got an “overwhelming, positive” response from the governors of potentially impacted states, including Florida and North Carolina.

After a delay, Joe Biden's update on preparations for Hurricane Milton has begun, with him saying "thanks for your patience".

He warns the hurricane has the potential to become "one of the worst storms" the US has seen in 100 years.

Biden also renews calls to Floridians living in areas under an evacuation order to leave now as he says it is "a matter of life and death."

Image source, EBU

We've just heard from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), with its latest update on Hurricane Milton, external.

Wind speeds are currently 150mph (240km/h) with higher gusts, and the eye of the category four storm is moving across the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

It's about 520 miles (835km) south west of Tampa, Florida and is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night.

The National Hurricane Center says Milton will retain major hurricane status and "expand in size" as it approaches the west coast of Florida, and that today is the last full day for residents to get "their families and homes ready" - and evacuate if told to do so.

The update adds that the storm surge warning has extended southward, along the east coast of Florida to Port Canaveral.

It also says the government of Bahamas has issued a tropical storm watch for the extreme north western Bahamas.

As we wait for Biden's update on hurricane Milton, just a few minutes ago the White House released a statement, external on President Biden's upcoming trips to Germany and Angola.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden has postponed the trips in order to oversee preparations and the response to Hurricane Milton, and the ongoing response to Hurricane Helene - which hit the southeast of the US in September.

The statement does not say when the trips will be rescheduled.

Image source, Getty Images

We're expecting to hear from President Joe Biden on the preparations the federal government is laying out ahead of Hurricane Milton's predicted landfall in Florida.

Stay with us.

As we've just reported, the hurricane will decrease in intensity but increase in size. This morning, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned this that Milton will bring "a large area of destructive storm surge" to the west coast of Florida.

This includes Tampa, one of the largest cities in the state located along Florida's Gulf Coast. Storm surge is predicted to be the worst in the Tampa Bay area, with the potential to reach 10-15 ft (3-4.5m).

The NHC is urging residents to follow local officials' evacuation orders.

Hurricane Milton is set to be a vast storm, and as of this morning had doubled in size.

That means that hurricane-force and tropical storm-force winds will reach even further across the state of Florida.

The hurricane is decreasing in intensity and is expected to make landfall as a category three storm - but since it is growing in size, it poses a threat to even more people, authorities warn.

"In some ways, it’s actually worse. It affects more people", National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan told CNN.

"You’re going to have surge, winds, heavy rainfall over an even larger area than you would if you had a smaller, maybe even more intense storm."