Milton by the numbers: At least 5 dead, at least 12 tornadoes, 3.4M without power
Hurricane Milton's explosive formation stirred high anxiety for Florida less than two weeks after Helene raked the state and much of the Southeast. On Thursday, authorities were still assessing the damage, even as Gov. Ron DeSantis said it fell short of “the worst-case scenario.”
Here's a look at Milton, by the numbers:
Milton's first known fatalities were at least five people who died in a tornado touchdown near Fort Pierce. It's a total that could rise as authorities assess damage.
In comparison, Hurricane Helene, with devastating inland flooding that spread over several states beyond Florida, killed at least 241 just last month.
The National Weather Service has confirmed “about a dozen” tornadoes from Milton, and that number will rise for sure, the agency said.
Matthew Elliott, warning coordination meteorologist for the weather service, said many more tornadoes were reported, but it will take time to investigate.
Elliott said the most tornadoes confirmed from a single hurricane was 118, from Ivan in 2004. Earlier this year, Beryl generated 65 confirmed tornadoes — the fifth-most on record.
Florida gets 50 tornadoes a year on average, Elliott said.
On Monday, Milton's winds gained an incredible 92 miles per hour (148 kilometers per hour) in a 24-hour period. Since 1950, just eight storms have gained that much speed at any point in their lifespan. Scientists say climate change is leading to more storms that rapidly pick up speed before they make landfall, and they've already pointed to warming oceans as a potent fuel source for Milton.
Milton reached Category 5 with winds of 180 mph (290 kph) while still in the Gulf, but the storm encountered wind shear as it neared land that dropped it to a Category 3 — less powerful but plenty strong enough to inflict terrible damage. At landfall, sustained winds were measured at 120 mph (about 205 kph).
Storm surge — one of the most devastating elements of any hurricane — was believed to top out at 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) in Sarasota County. That was less than feared.
In comparison, Ian's 15-foot (4.6-meter) storm surge devastated the community of Fort Myers Beach two years ago. Michael's surge reached 14 feet along part of the Florida Panhandle.
Hurricane Irma, a Category 4 that struck in 2017, caused 10 direct deaths in the U.S. and another 82 indirect deaths, including 77 in Florida. Michael, a Category 5 in 2018, killed eight people directly in Florida and Georgia, and another 43 people indirectly.
Milton knocked out power to 3.4 million homes and businesses across Florida, according to poweroutage.us, a site that tracks outages across the country. That's almost 30% of the customers tracked statewide by the site, which follows all but a small handful of utilities.
Milton’s arrival so soon after Helene was stretching Florida and its emergency responders badly, but it actually was the third hurricane to hit the state this year. Debby, a much weaker Category 1, caused flooding in much of the state and across the Southeast in August.
Milton’s landfall in Florida marked the sixth time in history that Florida had three hurricanes make landfall in a single year, according to Colorado State University senior research scientist Phil Klotzbach. The other years were 1871, 1886, 1964, 2004 and 2005.
The state in 2004 nearly had four hurricanes make landfall in a single year, Klotzbach said. But while Charley, Frances and Jeanne made landfall in Florida, Ivan made landfall just west of the Alabama/Florida border.
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