Hurricane Helene on path for Florida with significant strengthening expected before landfall

Helene strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday as it was leaving the Caribbean Sea on a path for Florida's Gulf Coast. The hurricane was expected to become more powerful as it moves through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph Wednesday morning, making it a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane center uses five categories for hurricanes and considers storms that are at least a Category 3, with sustained winds over 110 mph, to be a major hurricane.

"We think that significant strengthening is going to occur here over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, potentially taking this to a Category 3 or major hurricane," Jamie Rhome, a deputy director at the hurricane center, told CBS News on Wednesday.