Some of you may have heard of Hurricane Milton and the damage it caused. But do you know exactly what it is? The first time I’ve heard about such an incident was on X (formerly known as Twitter) and I was amazed with the lack of news coverage it gathered in its initial fruition. What makes this lack of coverage at the beginning so interesting, is the news stations that do talk about it, refer to Hurricane Milton as something that’s never been seen before. So what makes this hurricane so different from the ones we’ve come to know? The truth is it isn’t that different.

To give some quick background, according to the National Ocean Service, hurricanes feed through the warm atmosphere and warm air that circulates in itself the more warm air it gathers. They first start out as tropical waves over oceans but become hurricanes once it reaches the minimum of 74 mph. The reason hurricanes mostly form in the equator is due to its high ocean temperatures. Since hurricanes form in bodies of water, how do they transition to land? Once the hurricane borrows wind from its surrounding areas, whatever the direction the wind it borrows blows, that’ll be the opposite direction where the hurricane will head. Winds that blow from the east will guide the hurricane towards the west. One thing to note is that hurricanes begin to wither on its transition to land. Though obviously they still manage to cause great damage to whatever path it takes. 

Back on the topic of Hurricane Milton, it started off in the Central American Gyre. In the beginning of October, activity of this hurricane was found from the western Caribbean to the southern Gulf of Mexico. In this area, a counterclockwise low-pressure flow occurred. The hurricane also started 11 days after Hurricane Helene ended (Helene ended on Sep 29 while Milton started to form on Oct 5). Hurricane Milton has taken its path in Florida, Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Cuba, with Florida taking the most amount of damage. Hurricane Milton’s damage has been devastating especially with its soon approaching appearance from Hurricane Helene’s aftermath.

Hurricane Milton started off as a category 3 storm and headed off to Siesta Key, Florida. As of November 11, Hurricane Milton has taken the lives of 35 people. The damage Hurricane Milton has caused to Florida has also been devastating. Many businesses have shut down along with many families losing their homes and over 3 million people losing power. Theme parks such as DisneyWorld were forced to shut down, but activity resumed on Oct 11 once the hurricane unwinded and people were fit to travel. The aftermath of Hurricane Milton was soon followed with many Floridians filing 300,000+ insurance claims that totaled $200M.

Hurricane Milton has done damage to a lot of communities, businesses, and families. This damage is important to note because of the intensity the hurricane held. During its initial appearance, Hurricane Milon was categorized as a category 3 storm and many believed its transformation as a cat 5, but soon after its winds dropped to 120 mph, it was officially declared a cat 3. To fully understand, categories are defined through the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with cat 1’s winds ranging from 74-95 mph, to cat 5’s winds ranging from 157+ mph. Although this categorization of hurricanes is mostly to calculate the amount of property damage it may cause, hurricanes must never be underestimated for seemingly being in a cat 1 or 2, with one example being Hurricane Ike, a cat 2, which had a death toll of 85 people plus $30 billion in damage.

Hurricanes are a devastating natural disaster but with the technology and science we carry, we can find the predictability of how deadly a hurricane may be. As the death toll of Hurricane Milton rises, it is important that as people we find sympathy for the lives lost and always remember to stay prepared in case of an emergency.