The storm has maximum winds of 155 mph as it moves toward Florida’s southwest coast, falling just short of the most severe Category 5 status.
Authorities have issued dire warnings about catastrophic storm surges that might cause the water to rise up to 12 feet or 16 feet above ground in some places.
More than 2.5 million people are under mandatory evacuation orders, although some have chosen not to flee or are unable to.
Residents have rushed to board up their homes and stash precious belongings on upper floors.
Severe winds and rain have already begun to lash the American state’s heavily populated Gulf Coast.
The massive storm is expected to slam into the Gulf Coast somewhere north of Fort Myers and some 125 miles south of Tampa.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis warned at a news conference: “This is the kind of storm surge that is life-threatening.”
“It is a big storm, it is going to kick up a lot of water as it comes in,” he said from Sarasota, a coastal city of 57,000 in the storm’s projected path.
