Hurricane Milton "explosively" jumps from Cat. 1 to Cat. 5 in a day
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Hurricane Milton "explosively" intensified to Category 5 on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said, with 175 mile per hour winds measured by 2pm ET.
Why it matters: The storm's escalation — with an 85 mile per hour increase in wind speeds from morning to afternoon — is rare.
State of play: The hurricane's period of extremely rapid intensification occurred over record warm waters, which are tied to climate change.
- Warming ocean and air temperatures have led to an increase in rapidly intensifying storms in the North Atlantic Basin, including the Gulf of Mexico.
- Some of these storms have continued this trend straight through landfall, such as Hurricanes Helene, Michael and Ian.
What they're saying: Hurricane Milton is in rare territory for its rapid intensification rate, Karthik Balaguru, a climate researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, told Axios.
- "This is an extreme case even by the definition of rapid intensification," he said, noting the ideal ocean and atmospheric conditions where it is located.
Zoom out: Hurricane Milton's intensification rate, going from a tropical storm to a Cat. 5 hurricane within 48 hours, is behind 2005 Hurricane Wilma on the rapid intensification list, Kieran Bhatia, senior vice president at reinsurance company Guy Carpenter, said on X.
- Since 1979, only two Atlantic hurricanes had lower October pressures than Milton on Monday afternoon, Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach said on X.
- Those were hurricanes Mitch in 1998 and Wilma in 2005.
Threat level: While forecasts show the storm weakening some prior to landfall, the Hurricane Center is warning of its expansive and dangerous impacts.
- The NHC warns of "a large and powerful hurricane at landfall in Florida, with life-threatening hazards at the coastline and well inland."
- Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in some parts of the state on Monday.
Go deeper: Milton could be the hurricane Tampa Bay has been dreading for decades
