Updated October 5, 2024 at 9:00 p.m.
On September 26, Helene became the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida. The state would not be at the end of its troubles: another major hurricane would strike next week. Details.
Milton
On Saturday morning, the fourteenth tropical depression of the season formed. At the time of writing, experts are anticipating intensification that could lead it to hurricane status. Note that in just a few hours, the system has already obtained the title of tropical storm, the thirteenth of the season, with sustained winds of more than 65 km/h. Officially named Milton, it is moving east and threatening western Florida.
Due to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, reaching up to 30°C in places, tropical systems can intensify quickly. Remember that Helene went from tropical storm to category 4 hurricane in less than 48 hours, before hitting the Big Bend region in Florida head-on. Its consequences were devastating: Helene caused the deaths of more than 200 people and more than 750 mm fell in places in North Carolina.
Surprising fact: after a long break of almost a month, the hurricane season has greatly reinvigorated itself. In a very short time, the gap in the number of named storms compared to the average has been closed. Kirk, Leslie and Milton thus formed earlier than usual.
According to NOAA, Milton poses a potentially life-threatening hazard: it is expected to hit western Florida on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of at least 178 km/h. Milton would thus become the fourth major hurricane of the season.
Milton would make landfall around Tampa, then cross the entire Florida peninsula from west to east. Note that the Tampa metropolitan area has more than 3.1 million inhabitants. The situation is being closely monitored.
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