Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (center) is joined by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson (left) and Florida Governor Rick Scott (right) as they speak to the media about Hurricane Irma on Sept. 6 in Doral, Florida. Rubio rides out Hurricane Irma at home in Florida

Sen. Marco Rubio, riding out Hurricane Irma at home in Florida, says the huge storm is shaping up to be a worst-case scenario for the southwestern part of his state.

"I am currently in my home here in west Miami, and it is a nasty, brutal storm. And we are not even in the eye of the storm," the Florida Republican told CBS' "Face the Nation" by phone Sunday.


“We are going to get the sustained tropical storm winds. We are getting the gusts from hurricanes, tornado threats," he added. "It is going to be exponentially worse everywhere ... up the west coast of Florida."

"If you live in Naples, in Fort Myers, in Sarasota, in the Tampa Bay region, this storm has the potential to be that sort of worst-case scenario that meteorologists and emergency planners dread," Rubio said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sunday that President Donald Trump, who has been at Camp David for Cabinet meetings over the weekend, had conferred with Rubio and the governors of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"The president and vice president are also receiving a briefing this morning," she said, adding that White House chief of staff John Kelly has also been active in responding to the storm.