Hurricane Milton reduced a US meteorologist with 33 years’ experience reporting on hurricanes to tears live on air.
What prompted the moment, said NBC’s John Morales afterwards, was atmospheric pressure.
“It’s funny how millibars can get a nerd to lose it,” he said.
Falling barometric pressure is the best predictor of the growing intensity of a storm.
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The forecaster had just received an update from US weather services that revealed Milton’s pressure had dropped 50 millibars in just 10 hours.
“It just absolutely dropped like a rock,” said Mr Morales.
He had never seen a hurricane strengthening that quickly, from a tropical storm to a category five hurricane in not much more than a day.
But it was what was driving that intensification that also contributed to his uncharacteristic loss of composure.
Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are currently around two to three degrees warmer than 20th century averages.
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Plane flies through Hurricane Milton
Warm seas energise storms, increased evaporation of moisture from warmer oceans add more water into the storm leading to more rainfall.
Mr Morales blamed a growing sense of “angst” at the fact unchecked global warming was partly to blame for Milton being so exceptional.
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‘It’s serious this time’: Storm approaches US
The hurricane weakened overnight, but has now re-intensified to a Category 5 storm. It is forecast to weaken to a Category 3 storm just before making landfall in central Florida.
However, the highly unusual track, and colossal size, still make the storm the largest to hit this part of Florida in the history of recorded storms.
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Another key factor is the fact Milton will create a compound disaster – blasting through the damage left by Hurricane Helene that has left detritus across the Florida peninsula.
It will weaponise debris, broken tree limbs, collapsed buildings and rubbish bins, contributing to further damage.
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There is uncertainty about what a warming climate means for the number of hurricanes that might develop each year.
But the connection between warming and the power of future storms is now undisputed.
