Hurricane Milton will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall on Florida's west coast late Wednesday or early Thursday. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faces the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.

The powerful and dangerous Hurricane Milton is expected to make Wednesday landfall in Florida. Follow live updates.

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.