ReutersThere is still debris on the beach from Hurricane Helene as Milton is already approaching
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 10:30
Hurricane Milton has weakened somewhat in strength. The hurricane that is barreling across the Gulf of Mexico towards the US state of Florida has dropped from the highest Category 5 to Category 4, but still poses a major threat to Florida.
Milton passed the north of the Mexican state of Yucatan without causing much damage and is likely to make landfall tomorrow in Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida. The hurricane is then expected to pass over central Florida and then turn toward the Atlantic Ocean.
The area over which the hurricane passes is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which recently passed there. Helene, the deadliest hurricane in the US since Katrina in 2005, killed 225 people in the southern United States.
After Hurricane Helene, Florida is now preparing for Hurricane Milton
Helene caused a powerful tidal wave in Florida, a wall of water almost 2.5 meters high, which killed 14 people. Milton could also cause such a storm surge, meteorologists say. This could again lead to major flooding along the coast.
As a result, much of Florida’s west coast is under an evacuation order. That has led to long traffic jams on the highways to the north of the state and to the relatively safe Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the east side of Florida.
‘Chance of extreme hurricane’
According to meteorologist Wouter van Bernebeek of Weerplaza, there is a chance of an extreme hurricane. “More than 24 hours ago it was only a tropical storm with wind speeds around 90 kilometers per hour,” he says in the Radio 1 News.
“In the past 24 hours, things have gone terribly fast, becoming a fifth category hurricane with wind speeds of up to 280 kilometers per hour. That happens more often, but the speed at which that hurricane has increased in strength and especially with which the air pressure has also fallen in The eye of that hurricane can easily be called very special.”
The air pressure dropped by about 100 millibars in about 30 hours, “and that is really a very heavy drop in air pressure for such a system,” says Bernebeek. “That means the hurricane is in an ideal environment to become so powerful, combined with the warm sea water in the Gulf of Mexico because that is where it ultimately gets its nourishment.”
The strength of Milton has now decreased slightly again, to category 4. This includes wind speeds of between 209 and 252 kilometers per hour.
