Hurricane Milton was continuing to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico and was forecast to become a major hurricane later Monday as it inched toward a midweek landfall along the west coast of Florida, where residents are still reeling from the impacts of Hurricane Helene,

Milton expected to make landfall along Florida’s western Gulf coast mid-week, days after the state was battered by Hurricane Helene – the deadliest for nearly 20 years when Hurricane Katrina struck