Hurricane Milton live updates: Tampa braces for strongest storm in century as Category 4 hurricane barrels toward Florida

Hundreds of flights were canceled and delayed early Tuesday afternoon ahead of Hurrricane Milton.

Nearly 200 of those are at Tampa International Airport, according to tracker FlightAware.com.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport and Orlando Executive Airport are halting operations.

The 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders are home to about 5.9 million people, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

President Joe Biden warned Florida residents to heed evacuation orders and avoid being trapped as Hurricane Milton approaches the state, calling the storm potentially the worst to hit the Sunshine State in more than 100 years.

“If you’re under evacuation or orders, you should evacuate now, now, now. You should have already evacuated. It’s a matter of life and death,” he said while addressing reporters in the White House after receiving a briefing on preparations for the storm.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg has the latest: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-hurricane-milton-update-b2625931.html

President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday that Hurricane Milton could be “one of the worst storms in 100 years” to hit Florida.

The president postponed a trip to Germany and Angola this week because of the storm.

Biden said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has “gotten all that he needs” and has been cooperative.”

He said he told DeSantis, “You’re doing a great job” and “we thank you for it.”

With reporting from The Associated Press

A Category 5 hurricane like Milton is catastrophic for those in its path. But it’s hard to understand what it’s like inside until it hits.

The storm’s strength is measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which ranks hurricanes based on the sustained wind speed of the storm. A Category 5 decimates homes, leaving areas uninhabitable for weeks or months after it passes. Coming with maximum sustained winds of 157mph or higher, it tears roofs apart, shatters glass, and collapses walls, trees and power poles.

The Independents US Science and Climate Correspondent Julia Musto has the full story.

Monica Medina, the State Department’s former assistant secretary for ocean, environment, and science, took a swipe at Project 2025’s call for the break up of weather and climate service amid a busy Atlantic hurricane season.

“The Trump plan is as dangerous as these storms themselves ... If we dismantle [the National Weather Service] we lose this one vital link to keeping ourselves safe,” she told “Morning Joe” on Tuesday.

Tampa International Airport is the first major hub to be hit by Hurricane Milton.

Operations will be suspended from 9am ET today, with many flights to TPA canceled on Monday evening, with one Spirit Airlines flight from Chicago getting as far as the taxiway prior to take off before being called back.

All outbound flights from 9am local time have been canceled, though several flights due to take off in the following hour have been pre-poned (brought forward) to allow them to depart.

“TPA plans to resume services as soon as it is safe to do so later this week, but passengers should check with their airlines regarding flight schedules,” the airport said.