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.

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

Hurricane Milton was downgraded from a dangerous Category 5 storm overnight but remained a very powerful Category 4 hurricane as it took aim at Florida’s Gulf Coast, which is still reeling from Helene’s record-breaking landfall just over a week ago.