I was trying to understand that extreme reaction and then I read this, which if you know anything about meteorology or storm dynamics, is completely insane (and unfortunately what climatologists and meteorologists having been fearing would begin happening much more regularly as the Atlantic—particularly the Gulf—became warmer and stayed warmer through the summer and fall):
As Hurricane Milton exploded from a Category 1 storm into a Category 5 storm over the course of 12 hours yesterday, climate scientists and meteorologists were stunned. NBC6’s John Morales, a veteran TV meteorologist in South Florida, choked up on air while describing how quickly and dramatically the storm had intensified. To most people, a drop in pressure of 50 millibars means nothing; a weatherman understands, as Morales said mid-broadcast, that “this is just horrific.” Florida is still cleaning up from Helene; this storm is spinning much faster, and it’s more compact and organized.
Climate change set up the Gulf of Mexico to birth a storm this strong, this fast.
www.theatlantic.com
I had actually read a few years ago, during another bad hurricane season, a long form article about why Florida is actually arguably the most vulnerable state in the US to the immediate impacts of climate change (and one of the most vulnerable in the world), and there was a section specifically discussing the Tampa Bay Area. It had been riding its luck for over a century, avoiding a direct hit from a major hurricane. And that is concerning because not only is it “overdue”, it is one of the most vulnerable population centres in the US due to its geography and the way in which the city and surround towns have developed. Storm surge alone could do billions in damage because of the reclaimed and low-lying land on which many structures and its infrastructure have been built. Miami is always quite vulnerable (and parts of it—mostly lower income areas and the islands—already flood pretty badly every time there is a moderate rain storm, much less a hurricane).
And now it looks like Tampa’s luck may have run out.
