In an information bulletin issued on 9 October, the US Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that Category 5 Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida on the night of 9 to 10 October.

The passage of Milton is expected to bring a destructive and potentially deadly storm surge, damage from wind gusts of up to 257 km/h, torrential rain as well as tornadoes. With the increased threat of major flooding, Florida health officials have also warned the public about the risk of Vibrio infection, a potentially deadly bacteria found in water.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to be felt as early as this October 9 on the west coast of Florida. The weather situation is expected to deteriorate across the state during the course of the day. As a result, a hurricane warning covers much of central Florida, and a storm watch and warning covers other parts of Florida, southeastern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina and southern North Carolina (SSF 09/10/2024).

On 8 October, the Governor of Florida invited all residents in evacuation zones to flee. Meanwhile, the NHC warned that Milton could be "one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west central Florida", while President Joe Biden warned that evacuation orders for Floridians were a matter of "life and death".