• In its afternoon update, the National Weather Service said Hurricane Milton is growing in size as it moves closer to the west coast of Florida
• It is expected to make landfall as early as 22:00 EST Wednesday (02:00 GMT Thursday) near Tampa Bay, an area of roughly three million residents
• The storm is currently a category four - the second-highest level - with winds of 130mph (209km/h) around the eyewall
• Milton has already spawned tornadoes ahead of its arrival - one twister crossed Interstate 75, without causing any injuries

• Millions of people along a stretch of more than 300 miles (480km) of Florida's coastline are under evacuation orders
• Mandatory evacuation orders are in place across 11 Florida counties, and those who stay have been warned they must fend for themselves. More than 65,000 homes already have no power
• Tampa International Airport has halted flights. Nearby St Pete-Clearwater International Airport has also closed. Nearly 2,000 flights have been cancelled into or out of the US
• Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld have shut their doors
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said earlier: "There is high confidence that this hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage"

Vice-President Kamala Harris just called into CNN to reassure viewers that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) "absolutely has the resources that it needs" to tackle Milton.

The Democratic presidential nominee also deplored the misinformation that has spread since Hurricane Helene struck the same region two weeks ago, involving rumours that Fema was withholding resources and diverting hurricane disaster funds towards immigrants.

"It is dangerous," Harris said. "It is unconscionable, frankly, that anyone who would consider themselves a leader would mislead desperate people to the point that those desperate people would not receive the aid to which they are entitled.

"The politics have to end."

Earlier, President Joe Biden blamed Donald Trump and a Georgia congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, for spreading what he called "outright lies".

• For context: Trump and some of his allies have claimed that government money, earmarked for disaster victims, has been spent on housing for migrants. Fema, a US government agency, has a Disaster Relief Fund and a dedicated budget from Congress for food and shelter for migrants released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody - they are two separate pots of money. BBC Verify has looked into this, which you can read here.

Image source, Getty Images

As Hurricane Milton barrels towards Florida, zookeepers are busily preparing to protect the animals in their care - ranging from flamingos to koalas - from danger.

Moving is often not an option. It is extremely stressful for the animals, and zookeepers cannot risk that strain on the animals.

Instead, most facilities have hurricane-resistant enclosures right where the animals normally live – bunkered houses and barns made of welded metal and poured concrete, adjacent to their open pen, in which they can retreat every night.

"The animals don't know it's a hurricane. The animals are just like, 'Wow, it's really windy, you know? Wow, it's really rainy'," explains Greg Peccie, director of animal care and welfare at Riverbank Zoo in South Carolina.

"A lot of the animals have a predator-prey mentality, and they're creatures of habit. They want to do what they did yesterday because they did it and they didn't get eaten by a lion," he added.

In extreme cases, some zoos have been forced to resort to stuffing flamingos and other animals in bathrooms, or sheltering them in offices and interior hallways.

Read more about how zoos protect animals from hurricanes here.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm surge from Milton could reach up to 15ft.

That enough to inundate some houses up to the roof.

Alex Lederman
Reporting from Tampa

Image source, Getty Images

We’re still around 12 hours from landfall, but we can feel the storm picking up here in Tampa.

The winds are stronger. The rain is heavier.

An emergency alert hit our phones a short time ago: “URGENT: Expect Milton impact soon. Find shelter.”

Mark Poynting
Climate and environment researcher

Even before a hurricane reaches land in North or Central America, it has already undergone a long and complicated journey.

Atlantic hurricanes typically start off as a cluster of thunderstorms over the African continent.

From there, strong winds propel this “tropical wave” westwards, out over the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

Here, given the right conditions, it can grow into a tropical storm or hurricane.

Scientists have various tools to help track and forecast hurricanes – from satellite data to plane journeys to actually get inside the storms themselves as they develop.

Read our piece on the journey of a hurricane here.

Image source, Instagram

Jay Skelcher-Maxwell, a 23-year-old student and football player at Florida Southern College, evacuated from campus on Tuesday morning with his partner.

"This is my 5th year in central Florida and this is the only hurricane that has made me scared," Jay, who is originally from the Isle of Man, tells the BBC.

He says his college, which is in Lakeland, Florida, gave students the option of either hunkering down in one of the campus safe buildings or finding another place to go.

Jay and his partner chose to drive to Davenport, 25 miles (40km) away, where they will be staying at a friend's apartment.

"I have taken all the precautions I can think of in terms of food, water, candles, and power banks, but you never know what you will be hit with," he says.

Supplies are running low. The local Walmart, he says, was completely out of water by Sunday.

He and his friends also wrote their names and dates of birth down on a whiteboard that they have placed on a location higher up, so they can be identified by authorities in case anything happens.

"This is the one hurricane that we’ve taken very seriously," he says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

A massive storm surge of up to 15ft is expected between Tampa and the city of Port Charlotte, according to Michael Brennan, the director of the National Hurricane Center.

Speaking after Biden and Harris, Brennan said flash flooding and urban flooding could last throughout the night and into Thursday. Sixteen people were killed by flooding in the same area during Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Answering a question from Biden, Brennan said that Tampa will be particularly vulnerable to the storm, with a shift of even a few miles potentially bringing a dangerous storm surge directly into the city.

"As close as we are to landfall, it's not really possible to tell exactly where that worst surge will occur," he said. "It's one wobble away from moving 10 or 20 miles."

Brennan added that "water gets funnelled" into Tampa Bay, potentially creating a situation in which the storm surge experienced by the city is twice of what it experienced during Hurricane Helene.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

In an exchange with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden again noted that "off-the-wall" rumours about the hurricane have rapidly spread in recent days.

"It's like out of a comic book," he added.

Mayorkas, for his part, refuted claims that federal officials were seizing land.

"That is causing individual survivors not to approach people who are there to help and obtain the relief to which they are entitled," he said.

"False information is only fuel for the criminal element to exploit individuals in positions of vulnerability."

According to forecasters, much of Florida's western coast, as well as its north-eastern coast, will see a storm surge of some kind.

The areas most affected will be around Tampa, where the storm surge could reach up to 15ft (4.5m).

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

We've also just heard from Vice-President Kamala Harris, who began speaking immediately after President Biden.

Harris warned against companies - or individuals - seeking to profiteer from the storm and its aftermath by exploiting "people who are desperate for help".

"Whether it be at the gas pump, the airport or the hotel counter, be aware that we are monitoring these behaviours and the situation on the ground very closely," she said.

"Anyone taking advantage of consumers will be held accountable," the Democratic presidential nominee warned.

BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker gives an update on Hurricane Milton's trajectory.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

Some more now from Biden's briefing, during which he also addressed the rapid spread of disinformation in the wake of Hurricane Helene and ahead of Hurricane Milton, which he calls a "reckless, irresponsible and relentless" promotion of "outright lies".

"It's undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has already been taken and will continue to be taken," he says. "It's harmful to those who need help the most."

He directly accuses Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump of propagating "an onslaught of lies".

Biden specifically cites unsupported rumours that property is being confiscated, or that hurricane money is being diverted to help migrants.

"That's simply not true," he adds.

He also criticises Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who he said "is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather".

"It's beyond ridiculous," he adds. "It's got to stop in moments like this. There are no red or blue states. There's one United States of America."

Jared Evitts
BBC Newsbeat

Korina Sayegh describes her hometown of Tampa, Florida, as "the perfect city... but not right now".

The 23-year-old left to stay with her sister in New York City and she says the incoming hurricane is "terrifying".

"This is the first one where I have no idea when I’ll be able to go home or what I’ll be going home to," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

A flight to JFK airport would normally cost her no more than $200 (£153), but she had to pay $700 (£535) – even that’s a fraction of some tickets, which she saw selling for $2,000, she says.

"A lot of people couldn’t afford flights or couldn’t get gas, it was nearly impossible for them to leave," she says. "It’s not fair."

President Biden has warned airlines against hiking their prices. Some carriers have said they imposed fare caps over the past couple of days.

Image source, Korina Sayegh

Mark Poynting
Climate and environment researcher

Hurricane Milton is set to strike Florida just two weeks after it was hit by Hurricane Helene, which left more than 220 people dead across six US states, as well as millions without power.

A new study published today by scientists at the World Weather Attribution group finds that Helene’s rainfall was made about 10% heavier by climate change.

Meanwhile, Helene’s winds on the Florida coast were about 13mph stronger than they would have been without human-caused warming.

One key ingredient in Helene’s strength was the exceptionally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

The scientists found that these high sea surface temperatures were made hundreds of times more likely by climate change.

The Gulf of Mexico is still very warm – and while the latest study doesn’t directly consider Hurricane Milton, it adds to the evidence that warmer oceans are making such intense storms more likely.

Read more on how climate change is affecting hurricanes here.

Image source, Reuters

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US Reporter

We've just heard from US President Joe Biden, who's received a briefing on hurricane preparation efforts alongside Vice-President Kamala Harris.

In a brief address, Biden said that Milton "is looking like the storm of the century" and that many communities have been left "without a moment to catch their breath" after Hurricane Helene, less than two weeks ago.

"I know it's really tough, all your belongings, everything you own," he said. "But I urge everyone in Hurricane Milton's path to follow all safety instructions as we head to the next 24 hours. It's literally a matter of life and death."

Biden added that the White House is doing what it can to make sure that fuel remains affordable and available.

Gordon Corera
Reporting from Tampa, Florida

For the last two days, a thousand Tampa police officers have been working on getting people out from the mandatory evacuation zones, the city’s police chief, Lee Bercaw, tells me outside the headquarters.

They are still finding a few people who do not want to move though and officers have been going door-to-door to try and persuade them.

“We were trying to explain to them that the water is going to be up to the ceiling in their house,” Bercaw says.

“My job is to reassure people they are going to be safe. But in a time like this when this storm is coming and you are in an evacuation zone, I can’t reassure you that you are going to be safe. And I also can’t send my officers out in these conditions to help you.”

Officers will hunker down in different locations when the storm hits and preparing for what comes after. The first priority will be assessing damage and if they need to rescue anyone.

“Right after the storm we will be out ready to go,” Chief Bercaw says. “You have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best and that’s what we are doing.”

Elaine Thow, 75, from Edinburgh, is currently on Florida’s west coast on the border of Manatee County and Sarasota County.

She and her husband bought their flat, in a golf course community 23 years ago and go on holiday there twice a year.

The couple’s home is now in Evacuation Zone D and they have decided to stay put.

Although she says they feel “fairly safe”, Elaine does describe Hurricane Milton as “unprecedented”.

“We’ve been through last year’s storm and through Helene, but this is a different ball game, most things are shut down already,” Elaine tells the BBC.

Supermarkets have now closed and petrol stations will also be closed soon, according to Elaine.

The couple plan to sleep in “safe rooms” inside their flat and say they’ve filled their bathtub in case they lose access to running water.

“Even if the storm surge is as high as they're saying, we’re on the third floor. Our main worry is if something happens to our roof," says Elaine.

Image source, Elaine Thow