With its mighty strength and its dangerous path, Hurricane Milton has powered into a very rare threat that is flirting with experts’ worst fears.

The northern eyewall of Hurricane Milton has begun moving onshore of the Florida gulf coast near Tampa and St. Petersburg, the National Hurricane Center said just after 6 p.m. Wednesday.

TAMPA, Fla. — Hurricane Milton is a strong Category 3 storm as it tracks toward Florida's Gulf Coast. Florida started to see conditions deteriorating late in the morning on Wednesday ahead of landfall. Hurricane Milton is working its way toward the Tampa Bay area right now, just slightly weakening to a Category 3 storm.