The Savannah area is under a tropical storm warning as Hurricane Milton approaches Florida as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph.

Hurricane Milton is churning toward Florida ’s west coast. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, is facing the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.

As of 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, Milton is a Category 4 Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to make landfall across Florida late Wednesday.

Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, is churning toward Florida’s west coast. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, is facing the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.

Hurricane Milton hurled rain, tornadoes and tropical storm-force winds at the U.S. coast Wednesday on the storm’s steady, potentially catastrophic march toward Florida, where officials issued a final plea to residents to evacuate or face grim odds of survival.