Forecasts suggest Hurricane Milton is likely to make landfall in the western part of the Florida peninsula, bringing rain, ocean surge and damaging winds.

Tropical Storm Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday as forecasters expect the storm to quickly strengthen into a major hurricane over the next few days. Milton is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 36 hours and could be a major Category 3 hurricane when it reaches the west coast of the Florida peninsula mid-week,

According to the 8 a.m. NHC update, the storm has slightly weakened to a Cat 4 storm but is about 545 miles away from Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It is currently moving across the Gulf at 12 mph.