Another major hurricane is approaching Florida, one of the most rapidly intensifying on record

Hurricane Milton strengthened into a Category 5 tempest today, becoming 1 of the astir rapidly intensifying storms ever successful the past of the Atlantic hurricane season. 

It’s apt within the apical 3 fastest storms connected grounds erstwhile it comes to accelerated intensification, utilized to picture tropical cyclones with sustained upwind speeds that summation by astatine slightest 30 knots (roughly 35 miles per hour) successful a 24-hour period. Milton has seen an 80-knot summation successful upwind velocity (more than 92 miles per hour) implicit 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said this morning.

“This is astir similar 3 times the threshold that is used. So, yeah, this is decidedly disconnected the charts,” Karthik Balaguru, a clime idiosyncratic astatine the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, says. Only Hurricane Wilma successful 2005 and Hurricane Felix successful 2007 person strengthened much rapidly than that, the NHC says.

Rapid intensification is becoming a bigger hazard with clime change. Storms that summation spot that rapidly tin springiness communities little clip to prepare. Milton is headed toward the westbound seashore of Florida, wherever galore residents are inactive recovering from Hurricane Helene’s wrath.

Milton’s sustained winds were estimated to beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic 160 miles per hour by 11:55AM ET Monday, October 7th, according to information from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters aircraft. That puts it successful the strongest class of storms — Category 5 — according to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Wind speeds had reached a whopping 175mph by the NHC’s adjacent update astatine 2PM ET. Milton had besides managed to fortify from a Category 1 to Category 5 tempest astatine the second-fastest rate connected grounds for the Atlantic, tying Hurricane Maria.

Hurricanes gully spot from vigor vigor astatine the aboveground of the sea. Unusually lukewarm waters successful the Gulf of Mexico helped supercharge Milton, arsenic they did for Helene little than 2 weeks ago. Both storms rapidly intensified arsenic they approached shore, benefitting from debased upwind shear that mightiness different teardrop a tempest apart before it strengthens.

Climate alteration is priming the satellite for much rapidly intensifying storms, Balaguru has found successful his research. It’s mounting up the cleanable conditions: lukewarm waters and little upwind shear arsenic good arsenic much moisture successful the ambiance successful coastal regions. The mean hurricane intensification complaint has accrued importantly on the Atlantic Coast of the US since 1979, according to research Balaguru and colleagues published successful 2022. The probability of a tropical tempest rapidly intensifying has besides risen betwixt 1982 and 2017, a inclination that’s expected to continue arsenic the satellite warms.

“This has been happening. Whether it is the 3rd astir oregon the 10th astir [rapidly intensifying storm], it shouldn’t matter,” Balaguru says. “[Milton] fits this signifier of storms intensifying much rapidly with climate change. I deliberation that is thing for radical to deliberation about, particularly erstwhile it happens similar this, adjacent to landfall.”

The tempest is forecast to determination adjacent Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula contiguous earlier approaching Florida connected Wednesday. Storm surge could origin up to six feet of flooding on parts of the bluish seashore of the Yucatan Peninsula. Florida’s Tampa Bay could perchance spot a catastrophic 12-foot tempest surge. Milton could conscionable stronger upwind shear earlier hitting Florida’s Gulf Coast, weakening the storm. But it’s inactive projected to marque landfall arsenic a large hurricane “with life-threatening hazards.”

Hurricane Helene made landfall successful Florida’s Big Bend portion connected September 26th arsenic a Category 4 storm, bringing a 15-foot tempest surge to the country earlier tearing a devastating way crossed southeastern states up to North Carolina and leveling entire communities along the way. Milton could beryllium to beryllium adjacent much unsafe to Florida, successful particular, arsenic it barrels toward much populated regions on the state’s occidental coast.