Hurricane Milton was continuing to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico and was forecast to become a major hurricane later Monday as it inched toward a midweek landfall along the west coast of Florida, where residents are still reeling from the impacts of Hurricane Helene,

The most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.

People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Hurricane Milton is intensifying rapidly and will likely be a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.