Tracking Milton: All eyes on Florida as Category 4 hurricane hurtles toward cities

Hurricane Milton isn’t expected to directly affect the tri-state area, but with so much of Florida’s heavily populated cities, including Tampa and Orlando, in its path, many residents locally have expressed concern for families and friends in the south. And rightfully so.

Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers, threatening a 12-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.

Milton had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.

That path would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from northern Florida to the Appalachian Mountains and killed at least 230 people.

Here’s a look at the latest cone and potential weather hazards from NHC:

5-day cone: Where is Milton going next?

Peak storm surge forecast

Rainfall potential

Flash flooding potential

Wind speed probabilities