Tornado tears path of destruction through Florida neighborhood

The wrath of Hurricane Milton has been felt in a Florida neighborhood after a violent tornado lashed homes and cars. 

Video footage showed a path of destruction ripped through the Avenir neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens before Milton made landfall. 

In the clip, posted on X by Gelo Perez, roofs on multiple homes were seen damaged and missing panels that had been ripped off from the high-intensity winds. 

Debris sat scattered across the lawns and sidewalks as residents rallied together amongst the damage, including a flipped truck which lay idle in the background. 

Perez described the scene as 'disastrous.'

In a National Hurricane Center's X update, the storm is sustaining 61mph winds.

'Milton Close to Making Landfall Along the Coast of West-Central Florida. Life-Threatening Storm Surge, Damaging Winds, and Flooding Rains Occurring Across Portions of Central and Southwestern Florida,' the NHC wrote in their most recent X post. 

The storm is bringing rain and high winds at the Tampa Bay on its steady and potentially catastrophic march toward the west coast of Florida, where officials sounded urgent warnings for residents to evacuate or face grim odds of survival.

Tornadoes touched down in the Everglades and Fort Myers. Forecasters warn more could appear across central and southern Florida.

Forecasters expect Milton to make landfall at about 11pm EST as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130mph.

The greatest danger is posed by the wall of water, known as a storm surge, that Milton will whip up. Initially feared to be fifteen feet tall, forecasters now believe the storm surge will be a still record-breaking 12 feet in height.

'Where you are now is where you are going to be during the duration of Milton,' said Manatee county’s chief of emergency management, Matt Myers. 'The conditions are rapidly getting worse.'

The nerve-wracking Avenir footage comes after a video emerged of an idiotic couple taking selfies in the hurricane. 

Thousands of people have tuned into the stream to watch Milton - described as the 'storm of the century' by forecasters - as it rolls in. 

Despite almost six million Floridians being placed under evacuation orders, some also decided to visit Universal Studios resort in Orlando, to make the most of the hours before Milton makes landfall.

Footage of residents enjoying themselves while ignoring evacuation warnings drew contempt across social media, with one person sharing a selfie at the Key West landmark and questioning: 'What are you doing man?'

In another video that left social media users furious, an influencer said she was 'going to die' because she was too stubborn to evacuate her home during the storm. 

Calloway, 32, became one of the first Instagram influencers when she documented her time at England's prestigious Cambridge University but was found to have faked her qualifications.

Posting to her Instagram Story Tuesday night from her new Florida home, Calloway detailed the full extent of her predicament.

'So if you've been following Hurricane Milton, um, I'm going to die! It's supposed to make landfall in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. I'm in Sarasota, I live on the water, it's zone A, mandatory evacuation,' she said.

Another video showed a plane flying through Hurricane Milton aggressively shaking and jolting while enduring extreme turbulence.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as 'hurricane hunters' flew through the hurricane, ranked category 5 at the time,  towards Florida's west coast on Tuesday.

A group of brave researchers were onboard conducting vital research, including predicting the hurricane's path and future strength.

The video showed the crew members holding tightly to the plane as the ride turned rocky.

In an update from the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday, Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday.