Not even two weeks after Hurricane Helene swamped the Florida coastline, Milton has strengthened rapidly into a major hurricane on a path toward the state. The system is threatening the densely populated Tampa metro area — which has a population of more than 3.

After intensifying at an astonishing rate on Monday, Hurricane Milton weakened slightly but is still forecast to strike Florida’s Gulf coast within 36 hours with potentially historic

Forecasters predict Hurricane Milton is on a path to make landfall around the Tampa Bay area Wednesday as a major hurricane.