Standing on a thick layer of sand, Adam Robinson’s head nearly reached the ceiling of his beachfront condo in Siesta Key — ground zero for Hurricane Milton. The storm had dumped much of the beach into the living room and rearranged the furniture.

Hurricane Milton is expected to batter its way Thursday through Florida into the Atlantic Ocean after what President Joe Biden called "the storm of the century" made landfall in the state's west coast.

Hurricane Milton strengthened as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Tuesday and could wallop one of the state’s major population centers with huge storm surges, lashing rain and destructive winds just two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.