Hurricane Milton strengthened on Sunday night into a Category 1 storm, with wind speeds reaching 85 mph, as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Milton increased to a Category 2 hurricane early Monday as Florida gears up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years as the storm heads toward major population centers including Tampa and Orlando.

The National Hurricane Center predicts that Milton will become “an intense hurricane with multiple life-threatening hazards” and will likely make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast by midweek, as the storm charts its path eastwards as a Category 1 hurricane, according to the NHC’s latest update.