Here’s why Milton strengthened so rapidly

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Monday, October 7 Hurricane Milton strengthened from a Category 1 to a powerful Category 5 hurricane. Then Milton weakened into a Category 4 as it moved close to the Yucatan Peninsula. The latest update on Tuesday afternoon showed Milton strengthening back into a Category 5 hurricane .

The forecast from the National Hurricane Center has Milton maintaining Category 5 strength and then weakening into Category 3 before making landfall on the west coast of Florida.

But what is causing Milton to strengthen and weaken so rapidly?

Hurricanes need two things to strengthen: ocean temperatures over 80° and weak upper-level winds.

The sea surface temperatures in the Gulf Of Mexico are well over 80° and wind shear is low where Hurricane Milton was located on Monday and that’s why Milton strengthened so rapidly.

On Tuesday morning, Milton moved close to the Yucatan Peninsula causing it to weaken into a Category 4.

The reason Milton is expected to weaken into a Category 3 before reaching Florida is because there is higher wind shear off the west coast of the Sunshine State.

Wind shear refers to increasing wind with height. The winds at the surface are weak and the winds up high are strong. Wind shear weakens hurricanes by pushing the high-up clouds faster than the clouds closer to the surface. Hurricanes are strongest when they are symmetrical, and the wind shear prevents symmetry.

⏩ Read today’s top stories on wkrn.com

This is a good thing for Florida. As a Category 3, Milton will cause 12+ feet of storm surge and winds between 111-129 mph, but if it was a Category 5 the winds would be over 156 mph and the storm surge could be more than 18 feet!

The damage caused by Milton is going to be catastrophic, but if it wasn’t for the wind shear it could be even worse.

Unlike Helene, Milton isn’t expected to drop huge rain totals. Some flooding caused by rainfall will be possible, but most of the flooding will be caused by the storm surge.

Don’t forget to take the power and reliability of the WKRN Weather Authority with you at all times by downloading the News 2 Storm Tracker app .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.