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HURRICANE MILTON IS currently making its way towards the south east of the United States and is set to be the fifth-strongest storm to ever hit the country.
Residents in Florida’s gulf coast are bracing for the impact of the storm as near-record winds are expected to hit the region which is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene that cause devastation just 12 days ago.
According to the National Hurricane Centre in the US, the storm’s path is expected to make its way over the Gulf of Mexico and hit the Floridian coastline in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The hurricane, which is currently near the coast of the Yucatan province in south east Mexico, is expected to have extremely strong winds, a life-threatening storm surge -meaning it will likely cause tidal waves – and will grow as it approaches the US.
Cities such as Tampa Bay and Key West, along the west coast and in the middle of Florida, are expected to be at the greatest risk of flooding and will experience the strongest winds.
The winds, which are estimated to reach over 250 km/h in speed, can and most likely will destroy small and medium sized buildings, such as barns and sheds, or larger, less-sturdy buildings such as warehouses.
Many in Florida have already begun boarding up their properties in anticipation for the impacts of the storm. The earliest start to the hurricane is anticipated tomorrow.
About 240 kilometres south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was nearly a ghost town by yesterday afternoon as an evacuation order took effect.
Many residents along the western coast of Florida have been ordered to leave the area while others prepare the banks with sandbags.
Some areas north of Tampa Bay in Florida are expected to receive up to 16 inches of rain in the first day of the strom’s arrival. That is roughly half the rainfall that areas on the east coast of Ireland receive over the course of one year.
Other areas in the south of the State, such as Miami, will largely be unaffected by rain but may still experience potentially deadly and destructive winds and some localised flooding.
The entire middle region of Florida, including cities such as Tampa Bay, Orlando and surrounding towns, will almost certainly experience very destructive flooding as a result of the dangerous storm surges out at sea.
Other cities, such as Jacksonville and Miami, are expected to experience moderate to slight flooding.
Fox Orlando’s meteorologist Noah Bergren said on X, formerly Twitter: “This is nothing short of astronomical.
“I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storm’s small eye and intensity.”
He added: “This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.”
The National Hurricane Centre’s website says Hurricane Milton is “extremely powerful”.
“Milton poses an extremely serious threat to Florida and residents are urged to follow the orders of local officials,” it adds.
US President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and US representative Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilised to help in one of the largest mobilisations of federal personnel in history.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa mayor Jane Castor told a news conference yesterday. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”
Unsure of what exactly is happening with the earth’s climate? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.
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Can’t wait to hear the opinion of the journal’s YouTube gombín scientists.
@Philip Groark: Well, just look at the data
Most storms in a year
( Tropical storms (Total Hurricanes, Major hurricane) )
2020 30 14 7
2005 28 15 7
2021 21 7 4
1933 20 11 6
2023 20 7 3
1887 19 11 2
1995 19 11 5
2010 19 12 5
2011 19 7 4
2012 19 10 2
Fewest storms in a year
( Tropical storms (Total Hurricanes, Major hurricane) )
1914 1 0 0
1930 3 2 2
1857 4 3 0
1868 4 3 0
1883 4 3 2
1884 4 4 1
1890 4 2 1
1917 4 2 2
1925 4 2 0
1983 4 3 1
There are more hurricanes nowadays and when they occur, they get stronger quicker;
” … we detect a significant increase in intensification rates with a positive contribution from anthropogenic forcing. Furthermore, thermodynamic environments around tropical cyclones have become more favorable for intensification, and climate models show anthropogenic warming has significantly increased the probability of these changes.”
Bhatia, K., et al., 2022. A potential explanation for the global increase in tropical cyclone rapid intensification. Nature communications, 13(1), p.6626. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34321-6
@Philip Groark: can’t wait for this weakened weather system to hit Ireland next week and flood cork again
@Shimo F: y0u lAngerRR boi
@Shimo F: Why would you even joke about that? People’s livelihoods have been destroyed by flooding in Cork.
@Brian M: I didn’t see any joking there. The rebels can handle it, until they can’t.
@Brian M: bit foolish buying or setting up a business in a known flood plain.
@Vince Cable: What utter nonsense. Wishing misery on others and thinking it’s funny.
Apparently they’re going to become more frequent and stronger but it’s OK Florida, Ted Cruz believes that there is no scientific evidence to back up human-caused climate change
@eoin fitzpatrick: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is warning people not to loot homes and businesses after Hurricane Milton passes through the state.
The governor said people who commit crimes in the wake of the storm have “another thing coming” and could get shot by the people they are trying to rob.
And Trumps response. . .”drill baby drill”
@ian: Money addicts.
Let her rip. Plenty of BP money flowing into Florida from the gulf. You reap what you see.
@Argus Romsworth: Shut up you foolm
During one hurricane briefing at the White House, Trump said, ‘I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?’ according to one source who was there. ‘They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a nuclear bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?’ the source added, paraphrasing the president’s remarks.”
@Conrad Stapletwin: “According to” ………“an unnamed source “….this is how fake news is created. Irish media copy and embellish.
@Conrad Stapletwin: Ludicrous man!
@thomas molloy: admittedly I did a quick copy and paste job, but the crucial difference here, thomas is that this particular story has been verified by multiple sources. Trump actually suggested this during the meeting. It’s been fact-checked and verified and it shouldn’t take you too long to find that out if you’re genuinely interested in seeking out the truth.
suggesting something factual is “fake news” is a slippery slope.
Ah be grand!
SF the nonce party
@patw5675@gmail.com: Why don’t you use your real name???
@Vince Cable: Georgie Boys family need to be deported
Batton down the hatches & haul a$$!
Looks bigger than katrina
God help them all
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, we need lots more carbon taxes to stop this weather!
have your say