Is Hurricane Milton the Worst in Florida History ? The Forecast is Scary

Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 hurricane, is expected to hit Florida between Wednesday, October 9 and Thursday, October 10. The “major and dangerous” phenomenon could be one of the “worst storms” to hit the United States according to forecasts.

Hurricane Milton is approaching Florida and images of the meteorological phenomenon compared to a “monster” have people fearing the worst. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes ever recorded in west-central Florida,” the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) estimates, confirming the destructive force of the storm mass. Hurricane Milton, once downgraded in category 4, has regained strength to return to category 5, the highest, on the Saffir-Simpson scale. This is the force with which Milton is expected to hit the west coast of the Florida peninsula on the night of Wednesday, October 9 to Thursday, October 10, according to the National Hurricane Center's weather forecast.

“The center of Milton is forecast to make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida […] and move off the east coast of Florida toward the western Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon.””The entire west coast of Florida, United States, is expected to be affected. The Tampa Bay area is expected to see the most severe weather, but Milton is expected to be “extremely dangerous” for a wide area from Cedar Key in the north to Naples in the south. “Maximum sustained winds remain near 160 mph (260 km/h) with higher gusts,” adds the weather center, which warns: “Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane zone when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida.”

The forecast from the American weather channel, The Weather Channel, predicts a downgrade of Hurricane Milton to Category 4 before it hits the coast of Florida. According to the same modeled forecasts on a map, it could maintain its strength and weaken to Category 1 once it reaches the state's eastern coast.

“Fatal” Flooding Risks

While these high winds are extremely dangerous, other hazards that will arise with Hurricane Milton include severe flooding. The hurricane combined with the tide “will cause flooding of normally dry areas near the coast and the rising waters will move inland from the shoreline.” Water levels could reach as high as 10 to 15 feet above ground level, or 3 to 4 feet. About 15 feet in the hardest-hit areas, including Tampa Bay. Less-hit areas could still see water rise to 2 to 4 feet, or 2 to 4 feet.

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This will be compounded by rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches of additional water, and up to 18 inches in central and northern Florida. "This precipitation brings the potential for catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, as well as moderate to major river flooding." alerts the National Hurricane Center.

"The worst weather circ;te" of the century

“The entire Florida peninsula is under some form of watch or alert,” Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday, Oct. 8. Numerous precautions have been taken and people have been ordered to evacuate certain areas. “You need to evacuate now, it's a matter of life and death,” President Joe Biden warning of a hurricane that could be “the worst storm” to hit the Florida peninsula “in a century.” Meteorologists are standing behind Joe Biden in warning of an “unbelievable” and “just awful” phenomenon. Hurricane Milton is “going to take lives. It's going to destroy lives. You have to be concerned about the people who are in the path of the hurricane.” insisted&eac; John Morales, an American meteorologist for NBC with the New-York Times.

Florida has often found itself in the path of violent storms and hurricanes. Some of the weather events that have hit these coasts even make it onto the list of the most destructive hurricanes in history. Several Category 5 hurricanes, such as Milton, have hit Florida in recent years and decades. The last major event was only in 2022 with Hurricane Ian, which swept through Florida with gusts of up to 225 km/h. Ian caused the deaths of 150 people in this American state alone and between 67 and 113 billion dollars in damages, making it one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in the last century.

Hurricane Ian even dethroned Hurricane Andrew of 1992 which had caused more than $38 billion in damages, but was more violent with gusts of up to 260 or even 280 km/h. Hurricane Milton could surpass Ian and seriously compete with Andrew. Among the category 5 hurricanes that have hit Florida, the passages of Mitch in 1998 and Michael in 2018 can also be cited. It should be noted that the damage caused by Hurricane Michael had pushed the world meteorological organization to remove this name from the list of future hurricane names, making way for… Milton.

More powerful hurricanes in U.S. history

Even more powerful hurricanes have hit other U.S. territories over the past century, but they have not passed through Florida. Hurricane Camille, with its maximum gusts of 190 mph (305 km/h) in 1969, had hit the southeast of the country from Alabama to Virginia. Hurricane Gilbert hit Texas in 1988 with gusts of 370 mph. There is also the memory of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which affected most of the eastern United States.