 "Hurricane Milton explodes into a Category 5 storm. What the rating means")
Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline, Florida is bracing for yet another major storm, Hurricane Milton.
The hurricane went from barely hurricane strength to a dangerous Category 5 storm in less than 24 hours as it headed across the Gulf of Mexico.
The system poses a direct threat to the over 3.3 million people living in the highly populated Tampa metro region and a danger to the same section of shoreline that was devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Here’s all we know about it.
What is a Category 5 storm?
A Category 5 is the strongest hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, bringing winds of 157 metres per hour (252 kilometres per hour) or higher, with the potential to cause catastrophic damage, including the destruction of homes and infrastructure.
The last hurricane to be a Category 5 at landfall in the mainland US was Michael in 2018.
In the Atlantic hurricane season of 2024, which spans from June to November, Milton is the ninth storm to form.
Since September 25 alone, there have only been five, shattering the previous record of two during that time.
This much storm activity across Florida in such a short amount of time hasn’t occurred in two decades. In 2004, an unprecedented five storms struck Florida within six weeks, including three hurricanes that pummelling central Florida.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhy did Hurricane Milton intensify?
Milton had an “explosive” intensification on Sunday after being upgraded from a tropical storm, surpassing Category 4 strength in matter of hours, according to forecasters.
Earlier on Monday, the National Hurricane Centre had forecast that Milton would strengthen into a Category 5 storm and achieve a maximum sustained wind speed of 175 metres per hour in 12 hours before beginning to weaken.
Milton’s wind speed increased by 92 mph in 24 hours — a pace that trails only those of Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Felix in 2007. One reason Milton strengthened so rapidly is its small “pinhole eye,” just like Wilma’s, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach, as per The Associated Press.
The storm will likely go through what’s called an “eyewall replacement cycle," a natural process that forms a new eye and expands the storm in size but weakens its wind speeds, Klotzbach said.
The Gulf of Mexico is unusually warm right now, so “the fuel is just there,” and Milton probably went over an extra-warm eddy that helped goose it further, said University of Albany hurricane scientist Kristen Corbosiero.
“There are simply no words to describe the extraordinary intensification we have witnessed in this storm today,” US Stormwatch weather analyst Colin McCarthy posted on X on Monday.
When will it make landfall?
The centre of Hurricane Milton could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century.
Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida towards the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Carolinas.
The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Helene and its powerful surge. Twelve people died there, with the worst damage along a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.
Also read: As Hurricane Milton heads to Florida, how conspiracy theories around Helene thrive
How serious is the situation?
“Milton poses an extremely serious threat to Florida” and is “a life-threatening situation,” the NHC said.
Forecasters warned of a possible eight- to 12-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay. That’s the highest ever predicted for the region and nearly double the levels reached two weeks ago during Helene, said National Hurricane Centre spokesperson Maria Torres.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”
The storm could also bring widespread flooding. Five to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimetres) of rain was forecast for mainland Florida and the Keys, with as much as 15 inches (38 centimetres) expected in some places.
“It’s a huge population. It’s very exposed, very inexperienced, and that’s a losing proposition,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel said. “I always thought Tampa would be the city to worry about most.”
How is the region preparing for the storm?
Much of Florida’s west coast was under hurricane and storm surge warnings. A hurricane warning was also issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, which was expected to get sideswiped.
State officials are asking Floridians to heed local guidelines and make emergency preparations, whether they are evacuating or sheltering at home.
Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, pleaded with Tampa Bay residents who were under evacuation orders to follow them during a briefing on Monday morning. “I beg you, I implore you, to evacuate,” he said. “Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100 per cent preventable, if you leave.”
Uber and the state are working together to offer free transportation to and from emergency shelters for Floridians living in counties where evacuation orders are in effect.
“You have an opportunity today to do what you need to do to execute this plan,” DeSantis said Monday. “But time is going to start running out very, very soon.”
DeSantis has already expanded the state’s emergency declaration to include 51 of the 67 counties. “Do not get wedded to the cone. Floridians should prepare now for potential impacts, even if you live outside of the forecast cone,” he posted on X on Sunday.
Schools in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, were being converted into shelters. Airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando planned to close.
In Mexico, Yucatan state Governor Joaquín Díaz ordered the cancellation of all nonessential activities except for grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies and gas stations starting Monday, and Mexican officials organised buses to evacuate residents from the coastal city of Progreso.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and US Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were called on to help in one of the largest mobilisations of federal personnel in history.
DeSantis said Monday that it was imperative for debris from Helene to be cleared ahead of Milton’s arrival so the pieces cannot become projectiles. More than 300 vehicles gathered debris Sunday.
Lifeguards in Pinellas County, on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, removed beach chairs and other items that could take flight in strong winds. Elsewhere, stoves, chairs, refrigerators and kitchen tables waited in heaps to be picked up.
By Monday morning, some gas stations in the Fort Myers and Tampa areas had already run out of gas. Fuel continued to arrive in Florida, and the state had amassed hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, with much more on the way, DeSantis said.
The Europa Clipper project, which was supposed to launch on Thursday, is also being postponed by NASA and SpaceX.
With inputs from agencies
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