Mor e details, latest watches and warning , spaghetti models, and expected impacts for Hurricane Milton can be found here. In a rush? Here's what you need to know in a minute.
How does Hurricane Milton compare to Hurricane Helene ? Will Florida see similar impacts?
While a lot remains unknown at this time, with Milton hours from making landfall , here's what we know so far.
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Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall along the central Gulf Coast between 11 p.m. Oct. 9 and 2 a.m. Oct. 10.
Damage is expected to be catastrophic across Florida, with the storm expected to remain a hurricane as it crosses the state, emerging into the Atlantic Thursday afternoon.
As residents brace for the coming hurricane, many are wondering how Milton compares to Hurricane Helene. Here's what we know so far.
Hurricane Helene vs. Hurricane Milton: How do they compare?
Rapid intensification: Rapid intensification is when the maximum sustained winds in a tropical cyclone increase at least 34.5 mph in 24 hours. Milton's winds strengthened by 95 mph between 2 p.m. Oct. 6 and 1 p.m. Oct. 7, before peaking at 180 mph that same afternoon. Helene also quickly strengthened in the Gulf prior to landfall.
Gulf of Mexico: Record warm waters — not only on the surface but down deep — in the Gulf of Mexico helped both Milton and Helene strengthen prior to landfall in Florida.
Storm surge: Helene hit the Big Bend area with an 18-foot wall of water when it made landfall on Sept. 26. Milton is expected to bring storm surge of 10 to 15 feet to the Tampa Bay area.
Rainfall: Milton is expected to bring 5-10” storm rainfall between Jacksonville, Cedar Key, Venice, and Melbourne, with embedded regions of 10-15” accumulations most likely along or just north of the I-4 corridor. AccuWeather is predicting 12-18 inches of rain along a narrow corridor, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax rainfall of 30 inches. Hurricane Helene brought significant rainfall to Florida, with a maximum of 12 to 14 inches falling west of Tallahassee in the Apalachicola River Basin, according to the National Weather Service.
Similar paths, up to a point: Milton and Helene both moved through the Gulf of Mexico before steering currents in effect at the time took them in different directions. Helene up through the Florida's Big Bend and into the southeastern U.S. and Milton more east across west-central Florida.
Tornadoes: Helene prompted many tornado watches and warnings across Florida. Several tornado watches and warnings have been issued as Hurricane Milton approaches Florida Oct. 9.
Size : Hurricane Helene was a huge storm, about 400 miles across. Hurricane Milton is more compact — with tropical-storm-force winds about 175 miles from the center just over 12 hours prior to expected landfall. Milton is expected to expand in size before moving onshore.
Winds: Helene made landfall with 140-mph winds, making it a Category 4 storm. Milton's strength on landfall is predicted to be about the same.
Residents from Florida to Ohio are still recovering — and will for years to come — from Hurricane Helene, which is considered to be one of the deadliest hurricanes to make landfall in the mainland United States in the modern era. Deaths were reported in Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, and the number of victims could continue to grow as cleanup and rescue operations continue almost two weeks after the storm hit.
Tropical Storm Helene formed in the Caribbean Sea on Sept. 23, and then developed into a Category 1 hurricane on Sept. 25.
It underwent rapid intensification and became a Category 4 hurricane in less than a day, right before making landfall Sept. 26 with 140-mph winds. The storm hit east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, 10 miles west-southwest of Perry.
Helene's path over Florida, Georgia and beyond
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Contributing: Christopher Cann, Trevor Hughes, Thao Nguyen and Gabe Hauari ,
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: How does Hurricane Milton compare to Hurricane Helene?
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