Milton grew more powerful and gained hurricane status Sunday as it rolled through the Gulf of Mexico on a track that imperils areas of the Florida Peninsula still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

People across Florida were warned that Milton could rapidly intensify into a major hurricane before slamming into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast midweek.

Florida on Sunday prepared for the state's largest evacuation since 2017 as Tropical Storm Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its path toward Florida's western coast, coming on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Helene.