South Florida school districts say they are closely monitoring the fast-moving Hurricane Milton to decide when and if to close schools.

Hurricane Milton strengthened Monday into a Category 5 storm hitting 160 mph sustained winds and forecast to intensify further on its way to an expected landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center in a special 11:55 a.

Communities from the Tampa Bay area to Sarasota and Southwest Florida could be where Milton makes landfall midweek. Milton is a now a Cat. 5 hurricane