Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida, with US officials warning that "life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding" are occurring in central parts of the southern state.
The "extremely dangerous" category three hurricane is one of the most powerful storms to form in the North Atlantic in recent years, the US National Hurricane Center (NHU) says.
It comes just two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused substantial damage across the US south-east.
When did Hurricane Milton hit Florida?
Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida - a coastal community south of Tampa - at about 20:30pm EST on Wednesday (01:30 GMT Thursday), according to the NHC.
With current gusts of up to 115mph (185km/h), Milton will continue lashing the state overnight and throughout Thursday as it cuts through the centre of Florida before heading into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon and evening.
Annotated BBC map tracking path of Hurricane Milton towards Florida. In the graphic, it shows the hurricane moving from the Gulf of Mexico towards the direction of Florida, passing over Tampa after 02:00 on Thursday and Orlando before 14:00 on the same day.
Milton is striking some of the areas already decimated by Hurricane Helene. Tampa, which has a population of more than three million people in its wider metropolitan area, is just north of Siesta Key where the storm made landfall.
Forecasters are warning of torrential rain, flash flooding, high winds and possible storm surges - which occur when water moves inland from the coast.
They say Milton could be the worst storm to hit the area in about a century - with a surge of 10-15ft (3-4.5m) possible, and localised rainfall of up to 1.5ft.
Milton is moving inland along Florida's west coast, the NHC says.
Milton became a category one hurricane on Sunday and has been steadily moving eastwards, through the Gulf of Mexico, after brushing past Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
It has fluctuated slightly in strength, more than once achieving the most powerful status of category five, though it weakened before striking the US mainland.
The core of the hurricane is expected to pass over west-central Florida, with a large storm surge expected along a swathe of the state's coast.
On Tuesday night, the NHC said the hurricane had "wobbled" to the south, leading forecasters to alter its track slightly. Even the most accurate forecasts are typically off by about 60 miles (100km) when the storm is 36 hours away, forecasters said.
Meteorologists are warning Hurricane Milton could also bring several tornadoes from scattered thunderstorms that may be triggered across central and southern Florida.
Where are the Hurricane Milton evacuation zones?
Floridians have been told to prepare for the state's largest evacuation effort in years, with Governor Ron DeSantis warning that a "monster" is on the way.
Most counties are in an official state of emergency, and evacuations have been ordered up and down Florida's west coast.
Disaster management authorities have issued a list and map of the evacuation orders.
Several large shelters have also been prepared as a last resort for those stranded.
Airports in Milton's expected path have announced closures, and queues of traffic have been observed as people start to leave their homes.
Source: BBC
BDST: 0943 HRS, OCT 10, 2024
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