Last week, Florida’s west coast was ravaged by Hurricane Milton, marking the second major hurricane to strike the state in just under two weeks. Milton comes on the heels of Hurricane Helene, leaving Florida reeling from one of its most turbulent hurricane seasons in recent memory.
As early as Oct. 5, Florida officials began issuing warnings for a tropical depression, which formed rapidly in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Later that day, the depression became known as Tropical Storm Milton, which then soon swelled into a full-fledged hurricane. Though originally projected to be a Category 3 storm, the National Hurricane Center noted Milton’s potential for rapid intensification due to low vertical wind shear and exceptionally warm ocean waters in the gulf.
Sure enough, less than 48 hours later, Milton had strengthened into a monster of a Category 5 hurricane barreling towards Florida with maximum sustained winds of up to 160 mph. Later on Oct. 7, meteorologists warned that the storm was approaching the “mathematical limits of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.”
By Oct. 8, mandatory evacuations had been issued across several counties. Five and a half million residents of Tampa and surrounding areas were urged to flee, marking one of the largest evacuations in Florida’s history. Highways and roads became clogged with gridlock traffic from families trying to outrun the storm, and many found themselves scrambling for gas as they sought to leave when fuel shortages were reported in major cities such as Tampa, Fort Myers, and Orlando.
Then, it finally hit on Oct. 9. Hurricane Milton made landfall at around 8:30 pm as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa. As dozens of tornadoes spun off from the storm and ferocious winds ripped the roofs off of buildings and knocked down power lines, over 3.2 million Floridians were left without power. Many areas, already saturated from Helene’s rains, received as much as 18 inches of rain in a matter of hours, causing widespread flooding.
In the aftermath of the storm, the deaths caused by Hurricane Milton are still being assessed and tolled. The storm’s force, though slightly weakened at landfall, tore apart homes, businesses, and even a baseball stadium; the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was shredded almost completely, scattering debris across the field. Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Rays, opening the 2025 baseball season at home no longer seems to be an option.
In the meantime, rescue and restoration efforts are underway, though meteorologists warned that floodwaters could continue to rise for days in some areas, potentially prolonging the state’s recovery efforts. The power outages, destroyed homes, and ruined infrastructure caused by Milton and Helene combined could add up to billions of dollars in insured damages.
Despite the losses, Governor DeSantis expressed optimism that the state would bounce back. “And what we can say is the storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario,” he said in a press conference on Oct. 10. “The storm did weaken before landfall and the storm surge, as initially reported, has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”
There’s also good news for the resilient state of Florida: its recovery appears to be relatively rapid. As of Monday, power had been restored to most areas, with many businesses and schools already preparing for a return to normalcy.
