Hurricane Milton, which re-strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane Tuesday afternoon, is taking aim at Florida's west coast. Landfall is expected late Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane.Milton is closing in as Floridians are still recovering from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene.

Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear its luck is about to run out.

Four years ago, a disaster planning project called "Hurricane Phoenix" imagined what the worst-case scenario would be for a hurricane hitting Tampa. The result looks a lot like some of the forecasts for the region as Hurricane Milton approaches.

Florida communities near Tampa Bay were devastated when Hurricane Helene made landfall two weeks ago about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north

Hurricane Milton remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

Florida’s Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for the impact of Hurricane Milton’s winds and expected massive storm surge, which could bring destruction to areas already reeling from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago and still recovering from Ian’s wrath two years ago.

After a century of near misses and close calls, Tampa Bay’s nightmare scenario churned ever closer to reality by Tuesday afternoon as Hurricane Milton headed toward the region, expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm.