Hurricane Milton regained Category 5 strength Tuesday as it barreled across the Gulf of Mexico toward the Florida Peninsula, where millions scrambled to wrap up storm preparations and evacuate vulnerable areas.

Hurricane Milton, which re-strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane Tuesday afternoon, is taking aim at Florida's west coast. Landfall is expected late Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane.Milton is closing in as Floridians are still recovering from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene.

The powerful and dangerous storm, which re-strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane yesterday, is expected to make landfall late tonight, according to a National Hurricane Center forecast. An NBC News forecast predicts landfall slightly later, sometime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. tomorrow, somewhere near Sarasota.