Milton strengthens into Category 3 hurricane as Florida prepares for massive evacuations

Milton strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane Monday as Florida gears up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years as the storm headed toward population centers including Tampa and Orlando.Watch live coverage of the storm from sister station WESH in the video player above.Hurricane Milton grew into a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico as storm surge and hurricane watches for parts of Florida and a hurricane warning for the Mexican coast were issued, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.The storm-ravaged Gulf Coast in Florida was expected to hit less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck. While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Helene, which caused catastrophic damage…