Milton has become a Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward Florida's west coast, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay.

Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s Big Bend coast, Milton appears headed for the state. It could intensify to a Category 4 and make landfall as a Category 3.

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned on Monday that uncertainty over Milton’s precise path would lead to evacuations over a wide area, especially because the memory of Hurricane Ian was still fresh in Southwest Florida. That storm killed 150 people in 2022, some of whom did not heed calls to evacuate to the mainland from barrier-island communities.