What happened to Hurricane Milton yesterday is truly stunning.
Over one day, the strongest sustained winds in the storm strengthened from 90 to 180 mph. It has subsequently weakened to "only" 165 mph. Still a very strong category 5 storm.
The central pressure of the storm declined to 897 hPa (a unit of pressure) before increasing to 914 hPa.
The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record (Wilma) had a central pressure of 882 hPa..... not that different than Milton!
An infrared satellite image of Milton last night. Not the beautifully forced eye...
a sign of a very strong storms
Milton revved up over a patch of warm water northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula. We are talking about water in the upper 80s (F). Fortunately, it is now moving over cooler water, which is contributing to a modest weakening.
Specifically, I will show you the surface winds from the high-resolution NOAA/NWS HWRF model. At 11 PM Monday, a very tight, ultra-intense storm of right off of the Yucatan. with maximum sustained winds at 174 mph. Remember, gusts can be substantially higher, with some reaching over 200 mph!. Wow.
Moving forward in time to 2 AM Thursday, the storm has expanded a bit, with maximum sustained winds of "only" 120 mph. A category 4 storm.
The approaching hurricane will push high waves on top of substantial storm surge, so coastal areas, particularly south of the low center, will be flooded. As shown in the forecast for late Wednesday, some of the waves could reach 30 ft. And that could be on top of storm surge
of 10-15 ft (see National Hurricane Center map below). It is clear that the west coast of Florida from Tampa southward needs to be evacuated immediately.
North Carolina did not effectively warn and evacuate people for Helene and hundreds perished. We can hope that Florida will be much more effective.
of 10-15 ft (see National Hurricane Center map below). It is clear that the west coast of Florida from Tampa southward needs to be evacuated immediately.
Scary stuff. I hope those living along the forecast track don't ignore the warnings to leave. They have plenty of time as it stands if people act NOW.
ReplyDelete[Also, Cliff: your reference about the recorded pressure of Allen reads '989' when I think you meant '889'.]