Milton is strengthening today into a hurricane that will hit Florida this week

Tropical Storm Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday afternoon and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later today.

In a warning Sunday morning, meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Milton could become a “major hurricane” as it moves across the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico toward the west coast of Florida, a state recently hit was devastated by Hurricane Helene. where it is expected to land in the middle of the week.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, from Celestún to Cancun, as well as the Florida Keys and the northwest of the Bahamas. The NHC said hurricane and storm surge watches will likely be required in parts of Florida later today.

Where is Tropical Storm Milton and what path is it taking?

As of Sunday, 7 a.m. ET:

• Milton was located approximately 345 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico.

• It was about 860 miles west-southwest of Tampa.

• The storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour.

• The storm was moving eastward, or 90 degrees, across the Gulf of Mexico at a speed of 5 miles per hour.

“The risk of ‘life-threatening effects’ is increasing for portions of Florida’s west coast,” the NHC said Sunday morning. There is also an increasing risk of dangerous storm surge and wind impacts for parts of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday.

Residents of these areas should ensure they have a hurricane plan in place, the center warned in Saturday's notice.

Parts of the Florida Peninsula and Keys can expect rainfall of 5 to 8 inches, and locally up to 12 inches, through Wednesday night. Such rains pose “risks of flash flooding, urban and area flooding, and minor to moderate river flooding,” forecasters said.

Meanwhile, 5 to 10 cm of rainfall can be expected in the northern Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba.

Outside of Tropical Storm Milton, Hurricane Kirk, currently a Category 3 hurricane, is producing swell that is expected to bring “an increased risk of dangerous surf and rip currents” to the U.S. East Coast over the next few days.

Milton arrives days after Helene

Tropical Storm Milton comes just over a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a monstrous Category 4 storm, causing at least 20 deaths in Florida alone.

After making landfall with winds of 140 miles per hour, the storm moved inland across the Southeast, killing more than 200 people and leaving widespread destruction in its wake. After the storm, the state's infrastructure and emergency services were overwhelmed. As of Saturday afternoon, thousands of utility customers were still without power in Florida.

Read more from Yahoo News: Helene shows that in the age of climate change, hurricanes don't just destroy coastlines

Active hurricane season

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, but the peak of increased activity is usually from August to October. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a “typical” Atlantic hurricane season will typically see about 14 named storms, “of which seven become hurricanes and three become major hurricanes.”

In early October, eight hurricanes formed in the Atlantic – Milton was the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. As CNN notes, hurricane season is moving faster than expected. Normally, the 13th storm of the season would not hit until October 25th at the earliest.

Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have the resources to get through the season. President Biden said this week that Congress may need to pass additional spending legislation in the next few months to fund states' recovery efforts.