Florida officials are urging residents to evacuate now as Hurricane Milton intensifies and sets its sights on the state's west coast. Hours before the storm strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday,

Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.