Video: Florida traffic camera captured tornado as Hurricane Milton impacts state

A live camera from the Florida Department of Transportation spotted a confirmed tornado on the ground Wednesday morning in South Florida as Hurricane Milton barrels toward the state.

The funnel cloud was initially spotted on the CCat Toll Plaza camera near Alligator Alley in Tamarac, which is in Broward County. The tornado was moving toward Palm Beach County, FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Brooks Garner said. It eventually appeared to pull away from the ground and dissipate into the cloud.

Hurricane Milton is still hours away from landfall, but the storm's outer bands are already bringing rain, wind and the potential for tornadoes across the state.

Hurricane Milton latest updates:

The tornado threat for central Florida will grow Wednesday afternoon as the hurricane approaches the Gulf Coast, Garner said.

"Tornadoes are a common element during hurricanes, specifically the outer bands, like where these occurred," said FOX 35 meteorologist Jessica Dobson.

"It's pretty rare that we see them so visibly like these – especially on a DOT cam," she said.

Florida's Gulf Coast is expected to see extremely dangerous, life-threatening storm surge as Hurricane Milton gets closer, as well as heavy rain, flooding, damaging winds. Heavy rain, damaging winds, flooding, and tornadoes are the main threats for Central Florida.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: