We're Meteorologists. Here's The Deadliest Mistake People Make Before A Hurricane.

On Monday, Hurricane Milton strengthened into a Category 5 storm and continued barreling toward Florida. The system will bring life-threatening hazards like storm surges, flooding and catastrophic winds to the region when it makes landfall midweek.

The hurricane is coming less than two weeks after the state experienced the devastation of Hurricane Helene. But if you’re a Floridian or know someone who is, do not let storm fatigue prevent you or a loved one from taking action this time. This extremely dangerous new storm is set to be a historic event.

“If the storm stays on the current track, it will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years,” warned the National Weather Service of Tampa Bay, Florida. The National Hurricane Center told HuffPost in a statement that “Milton is the third-fastest rapidly intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic.”

Whether you live in the path of a hurricane right now or could be in that path in the future, you need to learn what weather warnings to take seriously so you can make the best informed decision for yourself and your family.

Take it from the experts who study hurricanes for a living. HuffPost asked meteorologists about the deadliest mistakes people make before a hurricane strikes. Here’s what they said, plus some other errors to avoid.

The biggest mistake? Underestimating the deadly effects of rising water.

Storm surge, or what happens when a hurricane’s strong onshore winds push a sudden rise of tidal water onto coastal areas, is the top reason people die in hurricanes, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“Water in every way is the deadliest part of a hurricane,” said Austen Flannery, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service for the Tampa