causes, power, feared damage… what you need to know about the storm of the century which threatens Florida – Libération

By intensifying remarkably quickly, the meteorological phenomenon surprised experts, who feared considerable destruction. There are massive evacuations in the southeast of the United States, where the hurricane will make landfall overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

Live on American television, a meteorologist holds back tears as he announces the coming catastrophe. “It’s just… terrible,” John Morales was moved on Monday, October 7, on the NBC6 news channel, describing the wind monster approaching the coast of Florida. Hurricane Milton will make landfall Wednesday evening or Thursday morning as a major storm “extremely dangerous”according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). The phenomenon is expected to produce a potentially devastating shock wave in the region, particularly in areas already affected by Hurricane Helen, which left nearly 230 dead two weeks earlier, from Florida to Virginia.

Between Sunday and Monday, Milton strengthened at full speed to reach extreme levels, passing in twenty-four hours from category 1 to 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, a tool used to classify storms according to their intensity. Or a pace of development “outstanding”, according to the NHC. After peaking at nearly 290 km/h, the hurricane finally dropped back to category 4 early this Tuesday, October 8. It should fall