Hurricane Milton is continuing to rapidly intensify before its expected landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast sometime Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center on Monday issued a hurricane watch for a stretch of the coastline including Tampa Bay, which remained roughly in the middle of the forecast cone.

As the booming region faces the possibility of a direct hit from a major hurricane, the risks from storm surge are severe.

Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, including Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, are in the forecast path of Hurricane Milton. Hurricane and storm surge watches have been posted.