Landfall by midweek - Major Hurricane Milton heading for Fla.

The West Coast of Florida is on high alert as Major Hurricane Milton heads for a late Wednesday landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast.

Less than two weeks since deadly Helene impacted the Florida Peninsula with hundreds-of-miles-wide wind field, Hurricane Milton will bring a fresh batch of destructive potential, including damaging sustained winds of at least 111 mph and higher gusts, deadly storm surge and flooding rains.

Florida is already under a State of Emergency to provide preparatory resources as this will be a serious situation. Mandatory evacuation orders have already been issued too. The exact landfall is far from certain, but forecasts are honing on a landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast. It is important to have hurricane alerts switched on for the latest information.

Milton is moving over deep warm waters and there is little shear it will have to deal with, allowing the 13th named tropical system of the season to rapidly intensify. Learn more about rapid intensification here.

Heavy rains have already been causing flooding across the entirety of Florida over the weekend and continue through Monday, as seen on the WeatherRadar. The saturated ground ahead of Milton's heavy rains will only cause more flooding problems. Prepare now.