Milton was upgraded this Monday to the rank of category 5 hurricane by the American Hurricane Center (NHC) which warns of the “dangerous winds” that it will bring to Mexico, before making landfall in Florida (United States) by Wednesday.
A category revised upwards. Milton has become a category 5 hurricane, the highest, the American hurricane agency announced this Monday, October 7.
In meteorology, scientists classify hurricanes on a scale of 1 to 5 on the so-called Saffir-Simpson scale, used to describe the intensity of storms. Category 5 hurricanes generate winds greater than 249 kilometers per hour, according to this classification, recalled by Météo-France.
In addition to devastating winds, this type of hurricane can be accompanied by torrential rains and catastrophic rising water levels, causing tsunami-like flooding when they hit the coast.
For example, in 2019, the winds of Hurricane Dorian approached 300 km/h, a level without equivalent in the history of the Bahamas, according to the American National Hurricane Center (NHC).
This type of cyclone is also becoming more frequent: one has been observed every year since 2015, a record series. They were much rarer before.
Small and big storms
In 2016, Hurricane Matthew was the first category 5 cyclone to hit the Atlantic since 2007. Another category 5 hurricane, Irma, which devastated the Caribbean and the southern United States in September 2017.
Particularly violent, Hurricane Katrina – also category 5 – caused the deaths of more than 1,800 people on the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005.
In comparison, Hurricane Florence in 2018 was downgraded to Category 1, before making landfall on the coasts of North and South Carolina, although it was nevertheless extremely dangerous.
“A lesser category event can therefore be dangerous and cause great damage,” explained Emmanuel Bocrie, forecaster at Météo-France, interviewed at the time.
Less powerful, Florence had however carried torrential rains into the already waterlogged lands in North Carolina, South Carolina and western Virginia, causing flooding and leaving more than 480,000 homes without electricity.
Towards an increase in violent hurricanes?
In 2018, a series of particularly violent storms, including Hurricane Florence in September and Hurricane Michael a month later, killed dozens of people and caused some $32 billion (29 billion euros) in damages. in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Hurricane Michael is considered the most powerful storm to hit the United States since 1969.
In May, the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency NOAA predicted a “near normal” hurricane season in the Atlantic for 2019. But authorities are encouraging Americans to be prepared to face these phenomena, as more than 80 million people live in areas considered high risk, even if they do not live directly on the coasts. Indeed, for residents, the main threat is mainly flooding, more than violent winds.
Scientists have long believed that global warming is likely to make tropical storms even more destructive in the future, a reality that some of them say is already visible.
The increase in ocean temperatures, the main cause of the intensification of hurricanes, and the rise in sea levels could also undermine coastal defense systems.
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