Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 hurricane, threatens disastrous winds and storm surge to the Tampa Bay area and the west coast of Florida, officials said Monday.

The event, called a reverse storm surge, also occurred during Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Irma in 2017. As heavy winds from Milton whip from land into the Atlantic Ocean, water levels are dropping significantly, exposing a bare sandy shoreline where water usually sits.

A hurricane’s winds blow counterclockwise, and with Milton passing south of Tampa Bay, winds to the north of the storm are blowing in from the east, pushing water away from the shoreline.