At three o’clock last night, Swedish time, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida. Rain, wind and storm surge now have enormous consequences.
Several deaths have been reported and hundreds of thousands of Americans have fled their homes.
How quickly the hurricane has formed is not only unique, explains TV4’s meteorologist Madeleine Westin – it is also terrifying.
– It is a deadly hurricane. I’ve never seen this speed before this has been created, in my 30+ years as a meteorologist anyway. It is frightening and terrible to see this, she says.
Record-breaking development
The reason why Milton has become so powerful is that several parameters have worked together, explains Westin. The sea is currently unusually warm, while huge winds at high altitude bring down cold air
– Just over a day, the pressure fell so incredibly quickly and the sea was so warm, that Milton made this force grow from nothing to a category 5 hurricane, which it was out over the sea before it has now pulled in.
The hurricane was at risk of becoming the worst in 100 years to hit the southern United States, but when it thundered towards land, it was quickly downgraded to a 2 degree level.
– But that does not mean that the danger is over, says Madeleine Westin.
Five meter tidal wave
The average wind in Florida is now 45 meters per second, which means you have wind gusts of 55 to 60 meters per second.
– Then you also have this tidal wave that is expected to come. This time they are talking about four, maybe five meters in some places. The pressure drops and then the sea rises. This is low-lying terrain. That is why it has been so important for people to evacuate from these areas.
Another problem is the rainfall, which is already very heavy. The rain is falling over an area that has already been badly affected by Hurricane Helene. There is now a great risk of more and more landslides in Florida.
– The roads will float away, says Westin.
The increasingly powerful hurricanes of recent times are directly linked to climate change, explains the meteorologist.
– There is a trend towards warmer seas. That gives more energy from below to these hurricanes that can grow.