President Joe Biden is postponing a planned trip to Germany and Angola to remain at the White House to monitor Hurricane Milton, which is bearing down on Florida's Gulf Coast, the White House announced on Tuesday.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the change was necessary "given the projected trajectory and strength" of the storm.
It was not clear when the trip might be rescheduled. Biden had promised to go to Africa during his term in office, which ends in January.
Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on the populous Tampa Bay region with towering storm surges and turn debris from Helene's devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.
Most of Florida's west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as the storm and its 145 mph (230 kph) winds spun just off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, creeping toward the state. With the storm expected to remain fairly strong as it crosses Florida, parts of the eastern coast were put under hurricane warnings early Tuesday. Milton's center could come ashore Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people.