Hurricane Milton is on a projected path that would inflict a direct strike on Florida’s Tampa Bay, a densely populated and fast-growing area that is one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to coastal flooding.

Almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast is under a hurricane or tropical storm warning Tuesday as the storm and its 150 mph winds creep toward the state.

With reverse storm surge, especially in larger storms, the opposite happens, explained AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok in 2022, after Ian hit. “It can pull the water out because the wind flow is coming from land to ocean, and it pushes the water,” he said. “The power of the wind is incredible.”