Milton’s mind-boggling rapid intensification is nearly without precedent
From CNN Meteorologist Mary Gilbert
Milton is already the third-fastest rapidly intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic, according to more than 40 years of data from the National Hurricane Center.
Milton’s wind speeds have increased by 90 mph in less than 24 hours, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.
The storm has nearly tripled the rapid intensification criteria of a 35 mph increase in wind speeds in 24 hours or less. Milton has rapidly intensified faster than any other storm in the Gulf of Mexico, but this level of explosive strengthening is not without precedent in the Atlantic. Only two hurricanes strengthened more than Milton in a 24-hour period: 2005’s Wilma and 2007’s Felix.
Hurricane Wilma holds the rapid intensification record for the Atlantic dating to 1982, NOAA’s John Kaplan told CNN last year. Wilma’s sustained winds increased by a staggering 110 mph in a 24-hour period while it moved over the western Caribbean Sea in October of 2005.
In 2007, Hurricane Felix rapidly intensified by 100 mph in 24 hours in the Caribbean.
Milton is the 13th named storm to form and the seventh to rapidly intensify in the Atlantic basin this season. Rapid intensification is becoming more likely as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution and bodies of water get warmer and retain heat.
