Hurricane Milton roars back to catastrophic Category 5 strength with 165 mph winds

( NYPost )

Hurricane Milton has returned to Category 5 strength on Tuesday evening, picking up power as it barreled toward Florida's west coast and the Tampa Bay area.

The storm was recording 165 mph winds as of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. update, with pressure consistently dropping throughout the day.

Milton is predicted to make landfall late Wednesday, with current trajectory models suggesting it will land somewhere just south of Tampa Bay – but meteorologists caution it is still far too early to know exactly where it will make landfall.

The Tampa region could face storm surges up to 15 feet, with surge warnings stretching across nearly the entirety of Florida’s Gulf coast.

Surge warnings were also extended Tuesday to include parts of Florida’s Atlantic coast in the NHS’ update -- and have even been extended as far north as Georgia’s coast near Altamaha Sound.

Milton is expected to blow straight across Florida into the Atlantic, meaning almost the entire state will be struck by the hurricane.