Storm chaser talks about what he saw on mission into Hurricane Milton's eye

Lt. Cmdr. Josh Rannenberg, lead pilot of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Hunters, has been diligently monitoring Hurricane Milton's trajectory, anticipating its historic and potentially life-threatening impact when it reaches the Florida shoreline.

Rannenberg flew into the hurricane at 3 a.m. Wednesday, making at least four passes through the storm to sample each quadrant on a nine-hour mission. The information he and his team gathered goes directly to the National Hurricane Center during the flight so they can update the forecast and advisories before landfall, expected Wednesday night.

"When we got to the eye of the storm, it was still a Category 5 hurricane, and I watched it grow from tropical storm to a Cat-5 monster within two missions, which is the fastest I've ever seen anything rapidly intensify," Rannenberg told ABC News' David Muir on Wednesday.

Residents were warned by the National Weather Service to shelter in place as Milton approached Florida's west coast.

Its sustained winds have decreased to 120 mph, making it a high-end Category 3 storm. However, the storm has expanded and heavy rain is hitting much of the Florida peninsula, with tropical storm-force winds spreading inland. A recent wind gust of 68 mph was reported in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

Rannenberg experienced what he calls the "stadium effect" as he flew into the eye of the hurricane, he told ABC News.

"When we were inside the eye, the eye of the storm was very hot, the air was much smoother, and the clouds kind of looked like a stadium building around us, and we were at 8,000 feet, looking all the way down to the ocean, and above us were cloud tops exceeding 55,000 feet," he said. "So just towering clouds spinning around us inside the eye of the storm."

Rannenberg has flown over numerous hurricanes over the years, but said Milton is on a different level.

"This is the craziest storm that I've ever flown inside of, hands down, multiple missions in a row, with the worst turbulence I've ever seen, the most lightning, the deepest convection, and just the breadth of the storm, the reach it has is incredible, as well as the power behind it," he said.

As of 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, there were more than 293,000 customers without power across Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall, according to poweroutage.us.

During an address on Wednesday, President Joe Biden discussed the imminent threat of Milton, which is projected to land on Florida's west coast as a Category 3 storm.

"I urge everyone in Hurricane Milton's path to listen to local officials and follow all the safety instructions they give," Biden said. "At this point, evacuation is probably difficult, so I encourage people to look for safer shelter, sometimes moving just a few miles can mean the difference between life and death."