Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where millions were ordered to flee and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving. While Milton isn’t expected to have much impact at all on the tri-state area, much of Florida’s heavily populated cities, including Tampa and Orlando, are directly in the path of the storm — home to many family, friends and loved ones for those in the New York City area. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century. The National Hurricane Center predicted Milton, a Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach, would likely weaken but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. Tampa could see a storm surge of up to 15 feet. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” NHC warned. As of the latest update, the National Hurricane Center had Milton about 300 miles southwest of Tampa, moving at a speed of 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. The storm could make landfall Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. It will likely make initial landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. Here’s a look at the latest cone and potential weather hazards from NHC: 5-day cone: Where is Milton going next? Peak storm surge forecast Rainfall potential Flash flooding potential Wind speed probabilities Tornado threat