More hurricane records broken
Randy Mann.
JAKE PARRISH/Press
Late last Wednesday, monster Hurricane Milton struck the west-central coast of Florida as a Category 3 major hurricane. It made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla., with winds near 120 miles per hour. When the storm was a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico, sustained winds briefly hit 180 miles per hour. The devastation from this massive storm was widespread. Damage estimates may be at least $50 billion. Milton also became one of the most rapidly intensifying storms in history as it exploded from a Category 1 system to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours.
Milton was the fourteenth named storm of this tropical storm and hurricane season. The average number of named storms for each year is 14. The hurricane was also the fourth major Category 3 or higher system to strike the U.S. within the same year. That ties the record for the most major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) to hit the U.S., which occurred in 2004 and 2005. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons were one of the most active and destructive in history. During the 2004 season, there were a total of five storms, including three major hurricanes to impact Florida in a period of six weeks. Two of the major hurricanes that year, Frances and Jeanne, made landfall in Florida just two miles apart in three weeks.
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