FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — Milton strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane Monday as Florida gears up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years as the storm headed toward population centers including Tampa and Orlando.

The storm was major hurricane as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center at Miami said.

Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and move at hurricane strength across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. It comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck, causing deaths and catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane warning for the Yucatan Peninsula from Celestun to Rio Lagartos, the center said.

About 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida in 2017 as Hurricane Irma bore down on the state. The exodus jammed freeways, led to hours-long lines at gas stations that still had fuel and left evacuees frustrated and, in some cases, vowing never to evacuate again.

Building on lessons learned during Irma and other previous storms, Florida is staging emergency fuel for gas vehicles and charging stations for electric vehicles along evacuation routes, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said at a Sunday briefing.

“We are looking at every potential, possible location that can potentially house someone, as what we refer to in emergency management, as a refuge of last resort,” Guthrie added.

Governor DeSantis said Sunday that while it remains to be seen where Milton will strike, it’s clear the state is going to be hit hard.

“I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have major impacts at this point,” he said.