Within less than two weeks after the major hurricane Helene arrived on the 27th of September, Florida was hit by Hurricane Milton on the night of the 9th of October near Siesta Key. The Category 3 storm made landfall with a sustained wind speed of up to 120 miles per hour, and by the next morning, nearly three million homes had lost power as the storm continued east through the state. The areas on the Gulf Coast bore the most impact. Strong winds pushed water inland as the hurricane reached shallow water, where a storm surge of 8-10ft was reported, leading to flooding in several coastal areas, and some areas reported heavy rain of 45cm. The combination of disasters led to devastating impacts.
At least twenty-three people have been confirmed dead as a result of the hurricane at the time of writing. Many homes were destroyed, torn roofs, wall insulations, blown down trees and ruined furniture (as well as debris from the previous hurricane) were scattered along the streets, together with widespread damage to power lines, roads, water systems and more.
The most damage was caused by tornadoes spawned from the hurricane, including the EF-3 tornado (with estimated winds of 140mph). EF-3 tore through a retirement community, causing the death of five people, making it one of the worst tornadoes in South Florida history. More than a hundred tornado warnings were issued, and many structures were damaged before Milton hit them. In general, tornadoes build up when the air on the ground is pulled upwards in a rotation. However, what made Milton’s tornadoes unusually strong was that they formed at the edge of the storm instead of near the eye, so their intensity was aided by the pockets of warm air from tropical oceans.
Hurricane Milton started forming in the Gulf of Mexico four days prior to landfall. For the past month, the sea surface temperature was as high as 31° C, the ideal conditions for a storm. It was initially a tropical depression – circulating winds of 38 mph at most – but it rose to a category five hurricane between the 6th and 7th of October, becoming the strongest hurricane in the area since Hurricane Rita 2005 as it moved towards the Yucatan peninsula. Then, the intensity decreased to category 3, turning northeast as it headed towards central Florida. The rapid escalation and the ongoing recovery from Helene made preparations difficult.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on-the-ground support included over 1000 first responders and 1400 search and rescue teams ahead of impact for areas in Milton’s path. It also issued mandatory evacuation orders to around six million people and released statements against misinformation. Almost 2000 people and 225 animals have been rescued, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who described the storm as “not the worst-case scenario”. People who came back in the wake of the storm faced fuel shortages, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management has set up a number of emergency distribution sites.
This hurricane season will last until the end of November. As hurricanes become more frequent and powerful, scientists have estimated the effect of human-induced climate change on them: The atmosphere being 1.3° C warmer than it would have been without interference has doubled the chance of heavy rainfall with increased intensity. Using statistical models, it has been estimated that climate change was responsible for an approximately 40% increase in the number of storms. The impact of Hurricane Milton serves as a stark reminder of the increasing threat posed by powerful storms and how vital our fight against climate change is.
