Sen. Marco Rubio says Hurricane Irma is projected to take the worst possible path of destruction through Florida.

Forecasts show the storm hugging Florida’s western coast but enveloping the entire peninsula, reaching as far north as the Tampa area by the end of Sunday.

“Hitting the west coast of Florida is the worst possible route this thing could have taken,” Mr. Rubio said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“This storm has the potential to be the sort of worst-case scenario that meteorologists and emergency planners dread,” the Florida Republican said.

Irma made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Keys on early Sunday with sustained winds of 130 mph. It’s the first year on record that two storms of that magnitude have made landfall on the continental U.S.

Irma is one of the most powerful storms ever recorded while traveling through the Atlantic, with winds peaking at 185 mph.

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