"Given the track over the very deep warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and little shear for the next couple of days, rapid intensification is explicitly forecast," NHC hurricane specialist Eric Blake said at 10 a.

Trough of low pressure set bring heavy rains starting Sunday into Monday, with tropical impacts expected for the middle of the week from Milton.

As per the National Hurricane Center's 11 am Sunday update, Tropical Storm Milton is 310 miles west-northwest of Progreso Mexico and 835 miles west-southwest of Tampa Florida, with maximum sustained wind of 65 mph. It’s moving 6 mph to the east-southeast. A tropical storm warning has been issued by forecasters for the north coast of Yucatan.

Hurricane Milton is expected to form Sunday and grow into a major hurricane that will hit Florida’s Gulf Coast with potentially “life-threatening” storm surge, flooding and

Forecasters say Milton is expected to be a hurricane small in size, but there is still uncertainty about both intensity and track.

A new tropical threat has emerged in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Storm Milton has formed and is expected to become a hurricane by Monday. It could reach major hurricane status before making landfall on the west coast of Florida as early as Wednesday morning.

Tropical Depression 14 formed into Tropical Storm Milton in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday afternoon, and is likely to rapidly strengthen into an “intense hurricane” that will begin to

Milton was expected to to become a hurricane late Sunday, with "steady and rapid strengthening" forecast over the next few days.

The National Hurricane Center says people across Florida should take notice: Milton is still just a tropical storm off Mexico, but it’s expected to intensify rapidly as it moves east across the Gulf and could be a major hurricane before it slams into the storm-ravaged Florida coast,