13 days after Hurricane Helene made landfall near the big bend region of Florida, Hurricane Milton struck south of Tampa Bay.
“On the heels of the tragic damage caused by Hurricane Helene throughout the southeast, Floridians were struck by another major hurricane, Milton, less than two weeks later,” said President of American Society of Engineers (ASCE) Feniosky Peña-Mora, P.E., in an ASCE statement.
A topical depression formed on the morning of October 5, 2024, in the southwest Gulf of Mexico and shortly after was deemed Tropical Storm Milton.
The storm rapidly intensified into Hurricane Milton on October 6, 2024.
Early on October 7, 2024, Milton’s wind speeds increased from 90 mph to 180 mph in just 15 hours, according to a Weather Channel article.
The storm’s strength bounced back and forth due to an eyewall replacement cycle and wind shear. Milton regained Category 5 intensity on October 8, 2024.
The storm lost intensity before ultimately making landfall on October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 hurricane.
Five facts about Hurricane Milton:
- Milton produced 126 tornado warnings. This marks the highest number of tornado warnings issued in Florida in one day. It also marked the second highest number of tornado warnings issued in the U.S. for a single day, trailing the 2011 outbreak in Alabama which saw 134 tornado warnings.
- Milton is the fifth U.S. Gulf Coast hurricane to make landfall this year. The other four Gulf Coast hurricanes that made landfall so far this year are Beryl, Debby, Francine and Helene. This number ties the 2005 and 2020 hurricane seasons for second most Gulf hurricane landfalls on record, trailing the 1886 season by only one hurricane landfall.
- Milton is the third hurricane to make landfall in Florida this year. The 2024 season has now tied 1871, 1886, 1964, 2004 and 2005 for the most Florida landfalling hurricanes on record in a single season.
- The highest rainfall total for Milton was 18.87 inches. The total was recorded in St. Petersburg, Florida and reported by the Weather Channel.
- The highest wind gust recorded was 105 mph. This wind gust was recorded in Egmont Channel, Florida, and was reported by the Weather Channel.
“Although we do not yet know the full scope of destruction caused by Hurricane Milton, severe weather, including compound flooding events are increasing regularly and pose a great risk to our safety and economic vitality,” Peña-Mora said in the ASCE statement.
