Hurricane Milton Path Map Shows Every State That Will Be Hit

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday, and although the storm’s direct path will likely stay within the bounds of the Sunshine State, widespread impacts from the storm could hit up to four other states.
Late Monday morning, Milton—which exhibited rapid intensification overnight—was classified as a Category 5 hurricane, according to the most recent National Hurricane Center (NHC) update. A hurricane is classified as a category 5 when it reaches windspeeds of 157 miles per hour or greater. Forecasts show Milton making landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday, but the expected windspeeds at landfall are still uncertain.
NHC experts have been issuing multiple warnings leading up to the storm, and a slew of hurricane-related weather alerts are in place for Florida. However, some areas outside of the storm’s direct path also could experience impacts, according to a map from the NHC.
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Florida is expecting widespread heavy rain and strong winds. Southeast Georgia could experience up to 8 inches of rain, and southeast South Carolina, including the Charleston area, could see up to 2 inches of rain. Southeastern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, and the very southeastern tip of Alabama and North Carolina could also see tropical storm-strength winds as the storm tears through Florida.
However, National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Jason Hess told Newsweek that, when it comes to Georgia, impacts like rain and strong winds will likely stay out of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.
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Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on September 26 as a Category 4 storm and tore a deadly path through the Southern U.S., leaving hundreds dead in its wake. Hundreds of thousands of people remain without power from the storm in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, but the power outages and damage from Helene are further inland than Milton’s impacts are expected to go at this point.
In addition, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned the leftover destruction from Hurricane Helene could pose additional dangers in the face of a new storm. “There are some areas with a lot of debris…if hit by a major hurricane, it’s going to dramatically increase damage,” he said.
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With evacuation orders already underway in Florida, it could be the largest seen since Hurricane Irma in 2017, experts say.
“We are expecting the northern portions of the hurricane circulation to impact all the way into southeast Georgia with at least tropical storm force winds,” Hess said of the incoming storm.
However, the storm is still over 48 hours away from bringing impacts to those areas, and no weather alerts have been issued yet.
In addition to an NWS hurricane watch and storm surge watch among other alerts in Florida, a hurricane local statement is in place for southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia, courtesy of the Tallahassee, Florida, NWS forecast office, which oversees those regions.
Update 10/7/24, 11:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 10/7/24, 1:19 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to state that Hurricane Milton is now a category 5 storm.