Hurricane Milton has been downgraded to category four - but is it still dangerous?

By ITV Weather Presenter Alex Beresford and Weather Producer Amie Stone

Hurricane Milton is barrelling towards Florida, with residents told this is the eleventh hour to evacuate. Fuel is like gold dust, as millions queue in their cars to evacuate.

The hurricane has downgraded from category 5 strength, to a category 4. This initially sounds like positive news, but it does not mean there will be a significant decline in the risk to life.

Categories are based on wind speeds, which have recently dropped to 145mph. However, hurricanes weaken very slowly, so the storm surge is expected to remain the same as when it was category 5.

It's currently set to make landfall near Tampa, Florida at 12pm British time (6am local time) on Thursday.

It will travel across the state, hitting Orlando 12 hours later at midnight (6pm local time) on Friday.

Hurricane Milton has been described as the biggest storm to hit the state for over a century and is set to be historic.

From the north to south, the coastline is set to be widely hit with storm surges between three and eight feet (90cm-2.4m), and in some areas, a staggering 15 feet (4.5m), causing devastating flooding.

What can we expect?

At three feet of water, basements of houses will be flooded and water will start to move to the lower ground floor.

It will certainly be difficult to walk through, pot holes will be hard to miss and cars will begin to move.

The areas hit with five or six feet of water will see cars swept away. There will be large amounts of debris flying and floating, as seen from last week’s hurricane.

A 10 to 15 foot storm surge will be a ferocious and extremely dangerous body of water, leaving homes and businesses completely flooded.

Even if people are able to get onto high ground, winds equally as destructive bring a threat to life.

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Why is it so intense?

The Gulf of Mexico is now the hottest it's been in modern records. The water is currently two to three degrees hotter than it would usually be at this time of year.

This excess heat is turbocharging Hurricane Milton towards the already battered state that’s still in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

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