Footage has shown US airmen flying into the heart of Hurricane Milton in a Cold War-era hurricane-hunting propeller plane codenamed Miss Piggy.

Documents and equipment crash onto the floor of the fuselage and the crew struggle to remain seated as the plane is thrashed by intense wind and rain.

“Good god,” one of the men says as he looks out of the window at the raging gales.

The men are officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned (NOAA), the smallest of the eight uniformed services of the United States.

Hurricane Milton is currently heading towards central Florida’s western coast, where its outer bands have already begun impacting the state.

Tornado warnings have been issued as the storm is expected to make full landfall later on Wednesday night.

It is forecast to double in size by the time it hits the US, meaning that its disastrous impacts will be felt across a much larger area, although it is expected to downgrade from a Category 5 storm to a Category 4.

Florida officials continue to urge residents to evacuate.