Axios

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.

Hurricane Helene's devastating flooding in Asheville, N.C., left the world's largest repository of climate and weather data offline, in a clear example of the federal government's exposure to climate change-worsened extremes.

Why it matters: The National Centers for Environmental Information is just one of countless federal assets at risk from climate change, to the tune of trillions of dollars per decade, according to a new report.

Hospitals are starting to run short of critical IV fluids and devising workarounds after a North Carolina manufacturing plant that furnished more than half of the domestic supply was taken down by Hurricane Helene.

Why it matters: Health systems worry the fragile supply chain could bring disruptions in patient care and a squeeze reminiscent of 2017, when Hurricane Maria tore through key drug manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Milton is intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to become a major hurricane of at least Category 4 intensity by Tuesday.

Threat level: Milton was upgraded to hurricane status Sunday, and is forecast to become a major storm by Monday before hitting the damaged west coast of Florida on Wednesday into Thursday.

Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene left more than 200 dead and thousands with flooded and damaged homes across the southeast, Florida's Gulf Coast is again preparing for a destructive storm.

• This one could be historic.

Threat level: Hurricane Milton, projected to be a Category 3 or stronger when it makes landfall Wednesday, is expected to bring 10 feet or more of storm surge — almost double that of Hurricane Helene, which killed 12 people in Pinellas County alone.

The response to Hurricane Helene's devastating landfall last month has been hampered by a slew of conspiracy theories and rapidly spreading misinformation about federal assistance to hard-hit communities, as an election year tragedy is swept into political discourse

Meanwhile, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to be a defining moment in American politics — and former President Trump's legal battles — more than three years later.