Milton was downgraded early Tuesday to a Category 4 hurricane but remained on a path toward Florida, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders and lending more urgency to the cleanup from Hurricane Helene, which swamped the same stretch of coastline less than two weeks ago. 

Milton intensified quickly Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm at midday before being downgraded. It had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph), the National Hurricane Center said early Tuesday. 

Its centre could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, and it could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. 

That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.