As of Thursday morning, Milton was a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico with maximum winds of 150 mph. The day before, Milton broke U.S. records for rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm to Cat 5 hurricane in 24 hours.

Hurricane Milton dropped to a Category 4 early Wednesday as it churns toward Florida's west coast. The National Hurricane Center had predicted it would likely weaken, but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.

Hurricane Milton is expected to be a "life-threatening" storm. The storm is set to make landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

The Category 4 storm prompted what could be Florida’s largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017, and officials say the time to prepare is running out.

Hurricane Milton, now barreling toward an expected landfall on Florida's west coast late Wednesday into early Thursday, has been rapidly upgraded and downgraded in the past few days as meteorologists grapple with the storm's destructive potential.