Milton regained strength Tuesday and was upgraded again to a Category 5 hurricane on its path toward Florida, threatening to engulf the populous Tampa Bay region with towering storm surges. The storm intensified quickly Monday, then weakened slightly before being upgraded again.
Maria Christina and her family feel lucky, as they were able to get on one of the last flights out of Orlando before the airport shuts down Wednesday in anticipation of the hurricane.
Highways leading out of Florida are jam-packed as Milton could come ashore Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, where 3.3 million people live.
LIVE Radar: Hurricane Milton regains strength, becomes Category 5 again
Hurricane Milton strengthens back into Category 5 storm day before landfall
Des Plaines native Dan Alderson and his wife took in the last calm view of their waterfront paradise in Cortez, Florida just east of Bradenton.
"We're moving inland tomorrow morning. This storm can do all kinds of wicked things. It can turn, it can build. It's much different than anything we've had in over 100 years," Dan said.
They'll join the masses of people gassing up and getting out of Milton's way.
But gassing up is getting tricky. GasBuddy says more than 1,300 stations across the state are out of fuel, and lines at the draining pumps seem eternal.
But not everyone is trying to leave.
Robb and Lynnea Tausend from South Barrington are hunkered down at the house they bought this summer in Venice, Florida. This will be their first experience with a hurricane. While the weather Tuesday is beautiful, they know what's coming. Some of their neighbors evacuated, but many more are staying put, protecting their homes as much as possible.
"We've gone through power outages before, but no heavy rain, strong winds and lightning and everything that accompanies this force of Mother Nature," Robb Tausend said.
There is a run on supplies at many retailers in Florida. Some hardware stores are completely sold out of plywood.
Paige Niehaus stocked up on water and other supplies, including a generator. She's hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
"Today is a day of preparation. Everyone is at the stores. A lot of the stores are out of stock," she said.
Even for seasoned Hurricane survivors, this one is different.
"That's scary when the experts don't really know. The rest of us, the novices don't know. It can be a lot," said Jennifer Sullivan.
Jennifer and Tom Sullivan relocated from Naperville to Clearwater more than a decade ago.
With medical staff at Tampa area hospitals reliant on them, the Sullivans cannot leave.
"Tomorrow, I would say midday. Midday is when all my hospitals will be locked down. The teams won't be able to get in or out, and we'll be hunkering down in our home. Waiting. Waiting and watching," Jennifer said.
Waiting is the worst part, at least, for now.
"It's like the theme song for "Jaws," and it just keeps coming and it's going to do this this and this. It just saturates you with anxiety. Like, what's going to happen? What's going to happen?" Tom said.
Amy Loukota and Rodney Scott had to cut their trip short; they were in Florida to celebrate Loukota's birthday. But now, they're grateful to be back home.
"Our hearts go out to the people that live there. They're worried and we hope they get through it safely," she said.
Eleven Florida counties that are home to about 5.9 million people, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, are under mandatory evacuation orders. Those who defy the orders are on their own, and first responders are not expected to risk their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm.
Milton is forecast to cross central Florida and to dump as much as 18 inches of rain while heading toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center. That path would largely spare other states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Carolinas.
Fleet of local tow truck drivers head to Florida to help with Milton recovery
Fleet of local tow truck drivers head to Florida to help with Milton recovery
A fleet of 25 local tow truck drivers will depart Tuesday night from south suburban Markham to head down to Florida, prepared to help with the recovery efforts after Milton makes landfall.
Vehicle Management Solutions is the national parent company of local towing companies E&R and W&W. Administrators say their partner agencies asked for help.
"You need these trucks to move debris, move things out of the way. I know they have rescue teams," said Early walker, senior vice president of governmental affairs for Vehicle Management Solutions.
"I anticipate our flatbeds will be loaded up with a lot of debris," said Matt LeLeon, W&W Towing operations manager. "They have the capability of winching things out; trees, cars, you name it, they can tow thousands of pounds of equipment."
"If we can move crates of water, food, supplies, whatever it takes, of assistance down there. These guys signed up be of whatever assistance down there," said VMS CEO Kevin Corcoran.
Some VMS tow truck rivers, already in Florida, have already been dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
"You will see cars under houses, debris and things of that sort," Walker said. "These are the only types of vehicles, tools that's can be used to recover those types of vehicles and that type of debris."
Fifty drivers are still down there, but have moved inland to ride out the storm. Then they will return to the Tampa area to help.
"Once the hurricane makes landfall and it's safe, we will return to the Bay area and continue the cleanup," said Frank Monroe, E&R Towing terminal manager.
The drivers leaving Tuesday will go to a holding area in Northern Florida and await direction. They expect to arrive Thursday after Hurricane Milton makes landfall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.