Tropical Storm Helene was rapidly strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and expected to become a hurricane Wednesday while moving north along Mexico’s coast toward the U.S.

Helene reached hurricane strength Wednesday morning as it continues to undergo rapid intensification along its journey into the Gulf of Mexico, where it is aiming for a destructive landfall along the Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center projects that the storm will make landfall as a major hurricane along the Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday.