Hurricane Milton Predictions Bring Meteorologist to Tears During Live Broadcast

As Florida braces for Hurricane Milton's arrival, one meteorologist was finding it hard to even discuss the forecast without becoming overwhelmed with emotion.

John Morales , a hurricane specialist for local Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ , began his broadcast on Monday, Oct. 7, with a less-than-chipper attitude as he confirmed the storm had been upgraded to a Category 5.

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"It's just an incredible, incredible hurricane," he shared, rather disturbed. After taking a deep breath to clear his throat, Morales attempted to explain the storm's intensity and rapid growth but found himself choking back tears instead. "I apologize," he said, clearly upset. "This is just horrific."

Morales continued his broadcast with a shaky voice and a list of the reasons why Milton has become such a significant storm system, feeding off of the warm waters of the Gulf as it moves past the Yucatan and heads towards Florida's west coast.

"Even though it is expected to weaken on approach, it is so incredibly strong right now that you're going to find it very difficult for it to be nothing less than a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida," he explained. "And where it makes landfall is going to be crucial because there–and south of there–are going to get a very high storm surge that could be 12 feet deep."

As of writing, Milton is predicted to hit parts of the Gulf Coast and Central Florida as a Category 3 storm sometime Wednesday afternoon–about two weeks after Helene devastated the area–spreading eastward into the overnight hours, per The Weather Channel .

Several hurricane warnings are in effect for Tampa Bay, Fort Myers, Orlando and the Daytona Beach areas. Part of the Tampa area is also being ordered to evacuate ahead of Milton's arrival while even more tropical storm watches and warnings cover other parts of Florida, southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina. A storm surge warning is also in effect for many miles of Florida's coast on both sides of the peninsula.

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