Milton's storm surge is a threat that could be devastating far beyond the Tampa Bay region

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene “spared” the Tampa Bay region a direct hit and yet storm surge still caused catastrophic damage, flooding homes, drowning people who decided to stay near the coast and leaving massive piles of debris that still sit along roadsides.

Now that Hurricane Milton, a more powerful storm, is heading straight for the same region, what can residents expect?

“Worse. Much worse,” said former Federal Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate, a Florida resident who previously ran the state's emergency management division.

The cities near the mouth of Tampa Bay saw some of the worst storm surge in memory during Helene even though the storm landed more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) to the north. Now forecasters say the low-lying region could be hit with 15 feet (5 meters) of storm surge.

“This isn’t water that rises slowly. This is fast-moving water with waves. It’s like a battering ram," Fugate said. "You just don’t want to be in that area. That’s how we lost a lot of lives in all those surge areas where people didn’t get out. They either drowned or were crushed by their houses collapsing on them.”

What is storm surge?

Storm surge is the level at which sea water rises above its normal level.

Much like the way a storm’s sustained winds do not include the potential for even stronger gusts, storm surge doesn’t include the wave height above the mean water level of the surge itself.

Surge is also the amount above what the normal tide is at the time, so a 15-foot (5-meter) storm surge at high tide with 10-foot (3-meter) waves on top of that can level buildings with ease, knock down bridges and flatten anything in its path.

How could it affect Florida's west coast?

Florida's west peninsular coast contains the Tampa Bay region, though it's not just the city of Tampa that's at risk. St. Petersburg and densely populated barrier islands are on the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the bay. And the threat from storm surge extends about 150 miles (241 kilometers) to the north into the state's Big Bend region and more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) to the south to Naples and into the Florida Keys.

Milton will have an enormous impact no matter where it lands, but the worst surge will be to the south of Milton's eye. If that includes Tampa Bay and the 3.3 million people who live in the region, flooding could be catastrophic. The region hasn't had a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than 100 years.

If it hits to the south of Tampa Bay, cities like Sarasota, Venice, Fort Myers and Naples could be devastated just two years after Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage, washed away homes and businesses and made bridges to barrier islands impassable.

What will happen to the debris still on the ground after Helene?

State and local governments are moving as quickly as they can to remove storm tree limbs, furniture, appliances and other debris left in huge piles after Helene. But they won't get rid of all of it.

While state and local officials fear Milton's wind and surge can turn debris into deadly projectiles, Fugate points out that it won't kill anybody if they evacuate and that property damage will be severe with or without debris blowing and washing around.

“I have the feeling everything that’s still standing will become debris and you won’t be able to distinguish it,” Fugate said. “If you’ve got enough water to move that stuff around, it’s going to be moving houses, cars and other things as well.”

But the storm could weaken, right?

Sure, Milton could weaken from a Category 5 to a Category 3 before landfall, but that won't make a big difference when it comes to storm surge.

“Wind doesn’t have memory, storm surge does. So, what a storm is doing a day out will have a lot of impact on storm surge,” Fugate said. “Once that energy is in the water and your pushing it, even if you saw some weakening, it doesn’t really change.”

And the area where Milton's heading has a large number of creeks, canals and rivers that will could cause problems beyond the immediate coast.

“This is the type of storm that too many people get fixated on the category and the track and they really need to be listening to the local weather services offices and the hurricane center on impacts,” Fugate said. “Storm surge is not tied to the winds, it's related.”