Hurricane Milton could be one of the ‘biggest disasters in history’ as monster Cat. 5 storm continues to gain power

Florida could be facing one of the worst hurricane catastrophes of all time as Hurricane Milton continues to build to one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall on the Gulf Coast.

“Unless we get extremely lucky, Milton will be one of the biggest hurricane disasters in history,” leading Fox Weather hurricane meteorologist Bryan Norcross predicted Monday, shortly after the hurricane was upgraded to a Category 5 storm with winds of 180 mph.

Norcross said it is too early to call where the storm will hit when it makes landfall Wednesday, but that if it follows the current trajectory and strikes Tampa Bay directly the city “will go underwater.”

“The Gulf water will be pushed up to 12 feet above normal high tide along the entire densely populated west coast of Florida near and south of where Milton’s center comes ashore,” Norcross said on Fox Weather.

A later forecast from the National Hurricane Center preducted storm surge for Tampa Bay could hit up to 15 feet.

Milton is currently expected to be the first time Tampa Bay has been directly hit by a hurricane in over 100 years – possibly spelling disaster for the low-lying city. The last time it was struck in 1921 the storm surge was lower than current predictions, and the city was still flooded through.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio echoed Norcross’s warnings, saying Milton’s current forecasts matched “worst case” scenarios he’d previously asked experts to compile.