What to know about Hurricane Milton, a powerful storm heading for Florida

Fresh on the heels of Helene, a massive hurricane that battered the southern United States from the Gulf Coast of Florida to Virginia's Appalachian Mountains, here comes Milton.

Milton intensified into a rare Category 5 hurricane Monday, with sustained winds of 180 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. As it approaches the Florida Peninsula, it weakened slightly, to a Category 4, the NHC said, but rebounded Tuesday to a Category 5 storm, winds were still at 165 mph as of Tuesday afternoon, with anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of rain is expected, and 18 inches predicted in some localities.

"This rainfall brings the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding," the NHC said in its Tuesday afternoon advisory.

The "life threatening" storm is expected to hit the Florida coast Wednesday night, near Tampa Bay, cross the state and move off the state's east coast to the Atlantic Ocean Thursday. It is one of the most powerful storms to hit Florida in recent history. 

Here’s everything Long Islanders need to know about Milton:

What is the path of the storm and what kind of damage is expected?

Milton is making its way east toward Florida and is expected to make landfall on Florida's west-central coast, the NHC said. The storm surge forecast for Tampa Bay is up to 15 feet if the peak coincides with high tide, projections show. It is then expected to move east-northeast across central Florida, possibly impacting the coast of Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As many as 15 million people are under hurricane and storm surge watches across Florida, officials said, and 11 million are at risk for tropical tornadoes through Wednesday. Mandatory evacuations are underway along areas of Florida's west coast, officials said.

"A large area of destructive storm surge will occur along parts of the west coast of Florida on Wednesday," the National Hurricane Center said. "This is an extremely life-threatening situation and residents in those areas should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so."

Why did Milton intensify so quickly?

On Monday, Milton intensified at a near "unprecedented" pace, from 80 mph sustained winds in the Gulf of Mexico to 180 mph sustained winds in the span of 12 hours, Newsday meteorologist Rich Von Ohlen said.

Only Hurricane Wilma in 2005, which caused approximately $19 billion in damage and 30 deaths in Florida, intensified more rapidly in such a short period of time the Atlantic basin.

"The Gulf of Mexico water temperatures have been much higher than in previous years, likely due to climate change," Von Ohlen said. "Warm tropical waters make hurricanes stronger. The conditions in the gulf at the time Milton was developing were ideal for rapid intensification."

What evacuations are going on?

From Tampa Bay to Orlando, Floridians began heading for safer territory outside of the projected flood zone.

Most motorists appeared to be heading north toward Jacksonville and likely out-of-state, according to highway images that went viral on social media Monday.

Other residents said they planned to stick it out in their homes and brave what comes next.

Those looking to fly out are expected to face major delays and cancellations, with the state already dealing with bands of heavy rain ahead of Milton's arrival. 

Tampa International Airport suspended operations at 9 a.m. Tuesday, with Orlando International Airport shutting down Wednesday morning.

What about the areas battered by Helene? Could they face yet another direct hit?

The path carved by Helene, which killed at least 230 people, was further north than Milton's eye, likely sparing the Panhandle, Georgia and North Carolina from any serious damage from this week's storm.

"This storm has a different trajectory. It's more southwest to northeast as opposed to south to north like Helene," Van Ohlen said.

Nonetheless, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday it was critical that debris from Helene be cleared ahead of Milton’s arrival so it can't become dangerous projectiles.

"You get hit with a major hurricane, what’s going to happen to that debris? It’s going to increase the damage dramatically," DeSantis said Sunday.

Will Long Island experience any impact from Milton?

No. The storm's path is expected to head southeast toward Bermuda after making a direct hit in Florida, sparing other northeast cities, including those in New York.

"It doesn't look like Long Island would expect to see any impact from the tropical system," said Joe Pollina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.