Elsa strengthens into hurricane as it hurtles toward Florida’s Gulf coast

Storm complicates search for survivors in condo collapse and prompts hurricane watch for upper Gulf coast

A storm that has lashed the Caribbean and the Florida Keys with pounding rain and gusty winds has strengthened into a hurricane as it hurtles toward Florida's northern Gulf coast, weather officials said on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said that Hurricane Elsa was packing winds as high as 75mph (121kph). The category 1 storm is expected to make landfall between 8am and 9am on Wednesday, somewhere between the Tampa Bay area and the Big Bend region.