It has become the fifth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, with wind speeds reaching 180mph as it sweeps across the Gulf of Mexico

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — 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.

Hurricane Helene, which left massive destruction along the Florida coast since making landfall Thursday, is now causing historic flooding, wide-ranging power outages, and other damage in an 800-mile northward path that's affecting the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, and other states.