Hurricane Milton is expected to grow in size as it approaches Florida, and while much attention is being paid to its center, the impacts will be felt widely, said Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center.

“As we expect Milton to grow in size before making landfall, it will spread the effects of wind and storm surge far from the center,” he warned yesterday.

“So let’s not focus so much on where the center can or can’t track – because when it comes to what impact you might feel, that can be incredibly misleading,” he said.

Storm surge warnings and watches covered the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula last night, with peak storm surges of 10 to 15 feet possible in certain areas.

Heavy traffic flows northbound on Interstate-75 as people evacuated the Tampa Bay area ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton yesterday in Ocala, Florida.

Hurricane Milton weakened slightly to a Category 4 hurricane early this morning and moved north of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 155 miles per hour as of 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), the National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin, which would put it at the upper end of a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale .

A Category 5 storm has winds of 157 or more. The hurricane is “extremely strong,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

The center of the storm was approximately 65 miles north-northeast of Progreso, Mexico. It was moving east at 9 miles per hour.

“The hurricane is likely to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday evening,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Milton, already one of the most intense Atlantic storms in history, appears to be heading straight for Tampa, forecasters said.

Due to its strength and size, it could be the worst storm the region has seen in more than 100 years.

Hurricane Milton's recent history has been nothing short of astounding, as it went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day.

The storm's rapid development is part of a trend of rapidly intensifying storms fueled by climate change.

The term “rapid intensification” describes an increase in sustained wind speeds of at least 35 miles per hour over a 24-hour period, according to the National Hurricane Center.

According to the nonprofit research group Climate Central, Hurricane Milton obliterated that minimum and experienced “extremely rapid intensification”: Its maximum sustained wind speed increased by 90 miles per hour in about 25 hours.

Global warming increases the intensity of storms by providing the conditions necessary for them to intensify, including warm sea surface temperatures and high levels of moisture in the atmosphere.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced overnight that 144 first responders were deployed to support authorities in Florida ahead of the planned landing in Milton.

The personnel will be drawn from three federal disaster response teams to assist in emergency response and search and rescue operations, Newsom's office said in a statement.

The first responders are part of 28 U.S. Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams that can be deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with disasters in any part of the country.

Each team consists of 70 members, typically led by a fire department but also including members from neighboring agencies who are trained in search and rescue operations, medical assistance, hazardous materials, construction engineering and logistics, according to FEMA.

Newsom's office said 140 personnel from several Southern California fire departments were deployed to the Southeast to help with rescue and recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene, which was blamed for 238 deaths in six states.