Sen. Rubio: Milton looks ‘almost identical’ to worst-case storm scenario for Florida

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) said Monday that Hurricane Milton looks “almost identical” to a worst-case storm scenario presented to him for the Sunshine State.

“Several years ago I asked [the National Hurricane Center (NHC)] to show me what the worst case storm hitting Florida would look like,” Rubio said in a post on the social platform X. “What they showed me back then is almost identical to the #Milton forecast now.”

On Monday, Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm, only a day after it officially became a hurricane. Florida is still currently recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread damage to several states in the Southeast.

The NHC said Milton’s center is expected to make landfall in the middle of the week, likely early on Wednesday. The center will make its way onto shore in the Tampa Bay area, and forecasters have said it could stay a hurricane as it moves over central Florida.

According to experts, the storm could bring with it a “life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds” for large portions of the west coast of Florida’s peninsula starting Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

In a later post on X, Rubio warned those residing “in an evacuation zone” that “the time to leave is as soon as you can.”

“Do NOT wait for the last minute,” he continued in the post.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) also gave intense warnings about the storm on X, saying in one post that people should “Get out NOW if you’ve been told to do so!”

“Hurricane #Milton and the deadly storm surge it will bring are on the way. Don’t try to wait it out. This is a matter of life and death!” Scott said in the post Monday.