Hurricane Milton began its turn toward Florida on Tuesday still a powerful Category 4 hurricane with a forecast landfall near Tampa Bay and projected path that will cut through Central Florida.

Already reeling from Helene, Florida coast braces for arrival of powerful Hurricane Milton, predicted for Wednesday

The storm is expected to produce a devasting surge along Florida’s west coast, which could include the Tampa Bay area. Some decrease in strength is forecast ahead of landfall.

What could be a deadly storm surge from Hurricane Milton of 8-12 feet is possible for more than 200 miles of coastline − with Tampa in the middle.

By Daniel Trotta and David Alire Garcia (Reuters) -Hurricane Milton strengthened into a Category 5 storm on Monday, posing an immediate threat to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on its way to Florida, where the state ordered mass evacuations while still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

Milton has rapidly strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 5 storm Monday on a path toward Florida

Florida’s storm-battered Gulf Coast raced against a Category 5 hurricane Monday as workers sprinted to pick up debris left over from Helene two weeks ago and highways were clogged with people fleeing ahead of the storm.