Hurricane Milton is on a path to wallop Florida this week/National Hurricane Center

De Soto National Memorial, still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Helene, is directly in the path of Hurricane Milton, which is expected to reach Florida on Wednesday as a major hurricane.

The national memorial, on the west coast of Florida at Bradenton, has not reopened since Helene struck and flooded trails and park buildings. The storm destroyed the majority of park trails and took down several trees, according to staff, who added that the visitor center had several inches of standing water inside.

On the east coast of the state, meanwhile, Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas national monuments planned to close ahead of Hurricane Milton's arrival.

"While the storm track is unpredictable, based on existing information park officials have decided to err on the side of caution and focus on visitor, volunteer, and staff safety by this preemptive closure," a statement on the park's website said Sunday. "Both Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas will then remain closed until further notice."

The National Hurricane Center said Sunday that it was too soon to predict exact impacts of the approaching hurricane, but that it expected "an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida peninsula beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday."

The center added that heavy rainfall would reach some areas of the state on Monday.

"Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph (100 km/h) ]with higher gusts," the center said Sunday morning. "Milton is forecast to rapidly intensify during the next couple of days and become a hurricane later today and a major hurricane late Monday."