John Morales, a meteorologist in Miami, was nearly brought to tears on October 7th as he realized the terrifying power of Hurricane Milton.
The Most Destructive Storm Ever Recorded
“We are entering a significant and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.” This assessment was made by some of the world’s leading climate scientists, published in the journal BioScience on October 8th. On the same day, the National Hurricane Center updated its warnings regarding Hurricane Milton, which is currently moving into the Gulf of Mexico.
“Milton has the potential to become one of the most destructive storms ever recorded in Western and Central Florida.”
Residents preparing as Milton approaches Orlando, Florida. (Photo: Reuters).
Unfortunately, these two statements are interconnected. When it comes to weather, the world we live in has entered an uncharted territory, as scientists noted in BioScience: “We have now placed the planet in climate conditions that neither we nor our prehistoric relatives have ever witnessed.” The consequence of this is that weather disasters will increasingly become more catastrophic and difficult to predict. The new normal is that there will be no new normal.
From its formation, Milton has been an unusual storm.
“It is very rare for a storm to form in the Western Gulf, move eastward, and make landfall on the West Coast of Florida,” Jonathan Lin, an atmospheric scientist at Cornell, explained to Vox. As Milton moved through the Gulf of Mexico, it encountered water temperatures nearly 3.5 degrees Celsius higher than normal at the beginning of October. According to the National Environmental Information Center based in Asheville, North Carolina, data on water temperatures in the Gulf is currently difficult to obtain because Hurricane Helene, which made landfall less than two weeks ago, damaged the offices of the data collection group.
This terrifying image shows the power of Hurricane Milton. The storm appeared as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico over the past weekend and was expected to make landfall on the West Coast of Florida on the evening of October 9th (U.S. time), having been declared a Category 5 hurricane after rapidly intensifying.
The terrifying strength of Hurricane Milton. (Photo: Denver & Front Range Weather).
The scale of the storm has astonished many, with wind speeds reaching a dangerous level of nearly 290 km/h and sustained winds above 321 km/h. Over 1 million residents in Florida have been urged to evacuate.
In his social media post on platform X, meteorologist Noah Bergren shared radar images revealing Milton as a massive red blot, engulfing the entire map. The red and brown colors on the weather radar map indicate heavy rainfall, flooding, and hurricane conditions.
Expert Bergren wrote: “I don’t know what words to use to describe meteorologically the small eye of the storm and the intensity of this hurricane. It is approaching the mathematical limits that Earth’s atmosphere in these waters can generate.”
A Storm That Stunned Meteorologists with Its Terror
Hurricanes draw energy from the surface waters of the ocean; the warmer the water, the more energy is available. Hurricane models predicted Milton would intensify as it moved eastward; however, forecasters remained stunned by its development. The storm escalated from a minor hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours. Since then, it has weakened slightly to a Category 4. A hurricane is said to undergo rapid intensification if its maximum sustained winds increase by 30 knots—about 56 km/h—within a day. Extreme rapid intensification occurs when wind speeds increase by an additional 50 knots—about 80 km/h—during that time. Milton’s sustained winds increased by over 144 km/h in just one day.
On October 7th, Milton became the third-fastest intensifying Atlantic hurricane when its wind speeds doubled the standard for rapid intensification, transitioning from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in less than a day.
The warm waters of the Gulf, along with atmospheric conditions, made Milton’s rapid intensification “almost certain,” according to physical oceanographer Gregory Foltz from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“This is truly unbelievable,” Zoe Mintz, a meteorologist at KPIX, CBS’s San Francisco affiliate, remarked on social media X while discussing Hurricane Milton. John Morales, a meteorologist at WTVJ in Miami, was nearly brought to tears on October 7th as he reported that the storm’s atmospheric pressure had dropped 50 millibars in just 10 hours.
“This is horrifying,” said John Morales.
A drop in air pressure is typically a sign that a storm is intensifying, and on October 7th, the central pressure of Milton reached a near-record low.
The Impact of Hurricane Milton Upon Landfall
Milton is expected to make landfall on the West and Central Florida coast on the evening of October 9th (U.S. time). Tampa, due to its location on the shallow continental shelf, could be the city suffering the most damage from storm surge and may be directly hit by the hurricane. In recent years, sea levels along Florida’s Gulf Coast have risen at double the global average rate over the past decade, with sea levels increasing by approximately 12.7 cm. This means that storm surge conditions in the area will be significantly more severe. The total storm surge from Hurricane Milton could reach up to 4 meters. Meanwhile, much of the area remains cluttered with debris left by Hurricane Helene.
Tampa Bay has not been directly hit by a major hurricane since 1921, according to a 2015 report from risk modeling firm Karen Clark & Co., which ranks it as the most vulnerable area in the U.S. to storm surge. The underwater topography in this area can resemble a giant funnel, directing and trapping floodwaters in the bay. The extensive urban development in the city over the past century has put many residents and coastal structures at risk. This metropolitan area is home to over 3 million residents.
Local officials in Pinellas County, including the cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, have referred to the forecasted storm surge as “unsurvivable” and urged residents to comply with mandatory evacuation orders.
Mexico was taken by surprise last year when a weak tropical storm in the Pacific suddenly transformed into an extremely powerful Category 5 hurricane named Hurricane Otis, just hours before it made landfall in Western Mexico, resulting in dozens of fatalities in the Acapulco metropolitan area.
The fastest intensifying Atlantic hurricane on record is Wilma, a Category 5 hurricane that struck the Yucatan Peninsula in October 2005, followed by Hurricane Felix in 2007.
Unfortunately, it is too late to prevent horrors like Milton from occurring. The BioScience report states: “We will witness even more extreme weather patterns in the coming years.” The best that the U.S. and the world can do right now is to try to mitigate damage by drastically reducing fossil fuel emissions and building more resilient infrastructure.
