By Hurricane Milton, one of the most powerful storms to emerge from the Atlantic in recent years, is set to make landfall as an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Center has warned that Milton is packing winds of up to 145 mph (233 km/h), which could lead to flash flooding, torrential rain, and storm surges in Florida. Millions of residents are rushing to evacuate as the Category 4 storm approaches the state’s coastline.
This hurricane comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast, resulting in at least 225 fatalities across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Milton began its journey as a tropical storm in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on October 5. It rapidly intensified, reaching Category 5 strength by October 7, with wind speeds soaring from 80 to 175 mph (129 to 282 km/h) in just 24 hours, making it one of the fastest intensifying Atlantic storms on record.
Hurricanes form when a weather disturbance, such as a thunderstorm, pulls in warm surface air from all directions. The evaporation of seawater creates rising water vapor, which cools and condenses into clouds and rain, with more warm, moist air spiraling up from the surface to replace it. Experts warn that warmer oceans lead to more extreme hurricanes.
Interestingly, Hurricane Milton developed alongside two other significant storms, Hurricane Leslie and Hurricane Kirk, creating a rare trio of hurricanes on October 6. Meteorologist Philip Klotzbach from Colorado State University noted that it is the first time three hurricanes have been observed simultaneously in October since satellite records began in 1966.
Klotzbach attributed this unusual occurrence to both extremely warm waters and low levels of vertical wind shear (the change in wind direction and speed with height in the atmosphere), highlighting near-record Atlantic temperatures.
The current hurricane season has been particularly strange, starting with the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, Beryl, followed by a quiet peak in activity. However, a surge of storms has emerged due to ocean heat.
The Gulf of Mexico’s ocean temperature is at or near record levels, providing ample “fuel” for hurricanes. Joel Hirschi, associate head of marine systems modeling at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), noted that the North Atlantic has been “running a fever” for the past year, with sea surface temperatures in the Gulf well above average.
As the climate warms, there is growing evidence that the time required for tropical cyclones to intensify into powerful Category 4 or 5 storms is decreasing. The rapid intensifications seen with Beryl, Helene, and now Milton align with this troubling trend.
