Although it is still hours away from landfall and has not yet caused any damage, Hurricane Milton is already rewriting the record books, officials said.

“I think off the west-central coast of Florida, this has the potential to be the most impactful hurricane we’ve seen in living memory, given the magnitude of the storm surge impacts,” said National Hurricane Director Mike Brennan . Center, told ABC News.

Milton is expected to make landfall near Sarasota on Wednesday between 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM ET as a Category 3 hurricane with winds exceeding 100 miles per hour. As of Wednesday afternoon, Milton was a Category 4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico about 150 miles southwest of Tampa and moving toward the west coast of Florida at 16 miles per hour.

Once the hurricane makes landfall, it is expected to produce a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet in Sarasota and a storm surge of 8 to 15 feet from Tampa to Fort Myers.

But the storm, the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, has already had an impact on the record books.

Milton is the strongest hurricane in terms of pressure in the Atlantic Basin since Hurricane Wilma, which hit Florida in 2005. The storm is also the strongest hurricane in terms of wind speed in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

On Monday, Milton produced maximum winds of 186 miles per hour, making it the third strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin by wind strength.

According to National Hurricane Center data, Milton is one of the fastest intensifying hurricanes, having intensified at 90 mph in 24 hours this week. Only the 2007 hurricanes Wilma and Felix experienced greater intensification, according to the data.

Milton is also the fifth strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin on record in terms of pressure.

Brennan said Milton is a different beast than other hurricanes because of its “unusual” track.

“Often we see hurricanes approaching Florida from the east or southeast,” Brennan said. “But this trajectory is somewhat unusual and is actually a worst-case scenario for these very storm-prone areas along the west coast of Florida, as Milton’s circulation will push Gulf of Mexico water right onto dry land here in the country. .”