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.

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.