Hurricane Milton, set to bring 160mph winds and “200mph uncontrollable wind demons”, is due to hit Florida in the next two days, following closely on the heels of Hurricane Helene.
Tampa’s Mayor Jane Castor has issued a stark warning to residents, stating: “There has never been a hurricane like this in Tampa, Helene was a wake-up call and this is literally catastrophic. If you choose to stay in those evacuation areas, you’re going to die”.
Weather expert Jim Dale told the Mirror that while Milton may not cause as many fatalities as Helene, it could still wreak havoc, with super tornadoes potentially forming within the hurricane.
He explained: “We could have tornadoes within a hurricane as it crosses land, you could have super tornadoes and the hurricane at the same time. In exactly the same way as hurricanes, there’s a league table.”
Weather expert Jim analyses the impact of Hurricane Milton, saying there could be “uncontrollable wind demons” in the form of super tornadoes and suggesting that despite widespread evacuations, fatalities are a possibility.
In terms of how many super tornadoes there could be, Jim predicted: “If you’ve got a category 5 super tornado, you have gusts of over 200mph. I think what will happen is there’ll either be zero or a few scattered around.”
About the hurricane’s power to generate deadly tornadoes far from its centre, he says, “You can get them on a thunderstorm cell up to 200 miles from the centre of the hurricane.”
“What happens is that the hurricane creates quite a lot of instability, they’re thunderstorms that turn into tornadoes. In either case, you think you’re out of it and you get one of these 200mph uncontrollable wind demons.”
While acknowledging the risks, Jim remains hopeful that advance warnings could reduce casualties compared to past storms: “I think it will be a lot less than Helene because the warnings are out there so I don’t expect it to hit 200. I do expect it to hit maybe a couple of dozen, either climate deniers, those who can’t move, or bare-chested fools who believe they can stand up to Mother Nature’s wrath for the most part.”
The power of Hurricane Milton is causing widespread concern, with reports indicating it has reached category five – the highest and most potent hurricane classification. This means it could unleash winds exceeding 157mph.
Even if it drops to category three or four, parts of Florida could still face wind speeds ranging from 111mph to 156mph. Jim issued a stark warning about the potential damage, stating: “If it goes in at a category four, trees will be snapped, power cables down and houses destroyed, it’s like a full-on train hitting you.”
He added: “Even a category three is considered to be major. Those are the statuses in terms of the wind. The big thing is the western side of Florida you’re going to expect a tidal surge with waves estimated to be 10-15 feet high. If you’re stood on the beach two or three times above your head, you won’t survive.”
