Hurricane Milton has just been downgraded from Category 5 to Category 4, but this is only temporary, according to meteorologists who explain that the reason is that the eye of the hurricane is shifting position and that Milton is expected to become a Category 5 again during the day. Milton is threatening to be the worst storm in the area in 100 years.

A good analysis by meteorologist Dave Osterberg:

Wind gusts of 200 mph have already been measured. That’s 322 kilometres per hour!

Follow the development live here.

Milton seen from space:

Unusual cloud formations appear in the Florida sky:

The Tampa airport will close 9 am local time. There are traffic jams on all roads out of the areas being evacuated.

Meteorologist John Morales broke down a bit on the live broadcast:

Tampa’s mayor, Jane Castor, has warned residents that if they don’t evacuate, they will die. Milton is expected to bring a possible storm surge of three to four metres and extensive flooding to the area.

Our journalist Elisabeth Rooney lives in the centre of the potential impact area. Read her article here.