Topics: Climate Change, Florida, Science, US News, Weather, Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton is expected to be wreak havoc when it hits Florida, potentially changing the coastline of the state permanently.
The US Geological Survey agency explained just how severe the storm is set to be, and the lasting impact it will have on the region.
Milton is set to strike the Sunshine state late on Wednesday evening (October 9) or early Thursday (October 10), and at least 95 percent of Florida’s west coast beaches are going to be overwhelmed or covered by ocean water when the storm makes landfall.
The government agency warned: “This is the most severe level of coastal change.”
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They added that ‘Milton’s waves and surge’ could cause ‘erosion and overwash’ to all of the state’s beaches.
The powerful hurricane could prove to be so devastating, it could permanently change the state’s coastline, according to experts.
USGS scientist Kara Doran also stated: “The significance of the coastal change forecast for Milton’s impact to the Florida west coast cannot be overstated.”
Meteorologists and scientists have also been urging people to take the threat of the storm seriously, insisting it is one of the most powerful.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor took to CNN earlier this week to warn that those in evacuation zones that attempt to ride out the storm would die.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) progressed hurricane Milton to the top category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale earlier this week.
Category five is stated as seeing winds at speeds of '157 mph or higher (252 km/h or higher)', with 'catastrophic damage' occurring.
It details: "A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months."
By Monday evening, the hurricane's winds reached 180mph - well above that of category five of the scale.
While the hurricane has since decreased to a category four, concerns are mounting it could go beyond category five once again. Due to the severity of the hurricane, there have been calls for a new scale to help categorize storms of this strength.
Speaking on social media, Professor Michael E. Mann stated: "A compelling argument has been made that a hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 192mph or greater should be considered 'category 6'.
"There is some speculation that #Milton might have actually breached the 192 mph 'cat 6' cutoff. Stay tuned..."
However, Fox Weather meteorologist Mike Rawling told the Post he is not aware of any new scale being created and said, at this point, a category six is unnecessary.
