Milton Is the Hurricane That Scientists Were Dreading

Climate change set up the Gulf of Mexico to birth a storm this strong, this fast.

Originally Published by The Atlantic

October 8, 2024

“As Hurricane Milton exploded from a Category 1 storm into a Category 5 storm over the course of 12 hours yesterday, climate scientists and meteorologists were stunned. NBC6’s John Morales, a veteran TV meteorologist in South Florida, choked up on air while describing how quickly and dramatically the storm had intensified. To most people, a drop in pressure of 50 millibars means nothing; a weatherman understands, as Morales said mid-broadcast, that “this is just horrific.” Florida is still cleaning up from Helene; this storm is spinning much faster, and it’s more compact and organized…”

Read the entire article here: Hurricane Milton & Climate Change.

Zoe Schlanger is a Journalist covering science, health and the environment, a staff writer at the Atlantic, author of The Light Eaters, a plant book and a finalist for the 2019 Livingston Award. She won the 2017 National Association of Science Writers’ science reporting award