A terrifying moment was caught on camera as Hurricane hunters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) were thrown around when they flew a plane into the huge Category 5 Hurricane Milton.
The scientists were collecting data from the storm as the aircraft approached Florida’s western coast on Tuesday.
Researchers on board the plane - dubbed "Miss Piggy" - had a bumpy ride through the storm’s 155mph (249kph) winds.
At one moment in the video, the hurricane shakes the plane so violently that equipment — along with a researcher’s phone and wallet — are thrown around inside the cabin.
Debris can be seen around the Hurricane hunters after items were jolted across the aircraft.
The hurricane, with wind speeds up to 165mph, is set to hit the Tampa region late Wednesday evening.
Having already developed into one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record, Milton threatens a stretch of Florida's densely populated west coast - which is still reeling from the devastating Hurricane Helene which smashed into it fewer than two weeks ago.
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NOAA
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts that Hurricane Milton will make landfall in Florida on Wednesday night, local time, as an "extremely dangerous hurricane."
It is likely to hit near Tampa, a metropolitan area home to over three million residents.
Meteorologists are cautioning against severe conditions, including heavy rainfall, flash floods, powerful winds, and potential storm surges, where seawater is pushed inland from the coast.
The core of the hurricane is expected to move across west-central Florida, with a large storm surge expected along a swathe of the state's coast ahead of landfall.
NBC forecasters estimate it will hit the west coast of Florida between 2am and 6am local time tomorrow - which is between 7am and 11am UK time.
Tourists visiting Disney World in Florida say they are stuck inside the resort after it was closed down amid Hurricane Milton
ReutersTourists visiting Disney World in Florida say they are stuck inside the resort after it was closed down amid Hurricane Milton.
According to Walt Disney World Magazine, the park has only been forced to close a handful of times due to hurricanes in its more than 50-year history.
Telissa Carpenter, who is on holiday at Disney for her son's 30th birthday, received a notification on her Disney app informing her that the resort was monitoring a quickly progressing storm.
She was then told hours later that her flight home, which was scheduled for Tuesday, had been cancelled.
"We came to the realisation that we're stuck here," Telissa Carpenter, who is on holiday at Disney for her son's 30th birthday, Carpenter told NBC News.
Hurricane Milton will slam into Florida later todayGettyAmerica is braced for a ‘once-in-a generation’ storm event as it comes under attack from one of the deadliest hurricanes in the nation’s history.
Eastern coasts are warned of ‘catastrophic’ impacts as 200mph winds and a near 10-metre storm surge unleash the worst devastation ‘since Hurricane Katrina’.
Meteorologists are meticulously studying the storm’s path with the merest change in track threatening dire consequences.
They fear Milton will be one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in US history when it makes landfall today.
Tampa's mayor has issued an urgent evacuation alert as Hurricane Milton approaches - as she warns that staying in evacuation zones could be fatalReutersTampa's mayor has issued an urgent evacuation alert as Hurricane Milton approaches - as she warns that staying in evacuation zones could be fatal.
The powerful storm may be more destructive than the recent Hurricane Helene.
Mayor Jane Castor stressed the unprecedented nature of the threat.
"I can say without any dramatisation whatsoever if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're gonna die," she told CNN.
The mayor's stark message underscores the potentially catastrophic impact of Milton, with forecasts predicting a storm surge of 10-12 feet, nearly double that of Helene's devastating 6-foot surge.
Mayor Castor added: "This is something that I've never seen in my life and I can tell you anyone born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before."
A British family trapped in Florida have been forced to barricade themselves inside their hotel as Hurricane Milton approaches the sunshine stateReutersA British family trapped in Florida has been forced to barricade themselves inside their hotel as Hurricane Milton approaches the sunshine state.
The party of nine from Colchester have found themselves among those stranded, with flights cancelled and Orlando International Airport closed.
Racheal Harris, 36, her husband Jamie, 34, along with their three-year-old son Maximus are preparing to weather the category-5 storm from their hotel room in Orlando.
