The first signs of Hurricane Milton's coming gale-force winds and rain squalls are now sweeping across Florida as the eye of the storm heads toward the West Coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) has classified Milton as “dangerous” and “catastrophic,” reporting that the hurricane is maintaining its Category 5 status as “devastating” maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (mph) build.

The eye of the storm is expected to hit Tampa late Wednesday around midnight, based on forecast models from NHC and weather data visualization company Ventusky.

But torrential rains of up to two inches per hour and up to 18 inches total, with flooding of all kinds expected as far inland as Orlando and even along Florida's east coast cities like Daytona Beach and Palm Bay.

Weather modeling company Ventusky is actively synthesizing meteorological data to track and predict Hurricane Milton's trajectory via its tracker listed below.

“Milton is forecast to remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida Peninsula,” NHC meteorologists warned in a new report Wednesday morning.

“Life-threatening hurricane-force winds, particularly squalls, are expected to spread inland across the peninsula,” it said.

“Preparations to protect lives and property, including preparation for long-term power outages,” NHC forecasters urged, “should be completed expeditiously.”

Over a million people in coastal areas are under evacuation orders, causing panic and confusion in some areas. As residents fled to higher ground, roads were clogged and local gas stations ran dry.

The storm is currently on a collision course with the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to around three million people.

However, officials noted that the chaotic and turbulent eye of Hurricane Milton could still change course.

Milton could cause $60 billion in losses to the global insurance industry, according to a report from analysts at RBC Capital.

This billion-dollar payout loss would be similar to the loss following Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida in 2022.

Ian had the second-largest insured loss from a hurricane, according to an insurance report from the Swiss Re Institute, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, whose devastation earned him the top spot.

Barclays analysts estimated this week that insured losses from the hurricane could exceed $50 billion.

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday evening. Millions of residents were ordered to evacuate

But these numbers will be felt most acutely locally, as entire communities wade through the devastation left by the Milton floods and the deadly winds that destroyed property.

Sarasota, Florida, Mayor Liz Alpert told reporters that her coastal city south of Tampa Bay is as ready “as we can be.”

“But this is going to be a really, really bad storm,” she told MSNBC.

“Emotionally it's really hard for people having experienced that (Hurricane Helene) two weeks ago and now we're here again,” Alpert said.

Florida residents seeking assistance are asked to call the State Assistance Information Line (SAIL) at 1-800-342-3557 and/or the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.