Tornadoes that precede the storm's landfall are usually weak and short-lived, but in the case of Hurricane Milton, they were more intense, a forecaster from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) told The New York Times USA Bill Bunting.
Forecasters were surprised by the devastating tornadoes that swept across the Florida peninsula before Milton moved there.
"It is not unusual for tornadoes to precede a storm's landfall, but they are usually weak and short-lived. The ones that accompanied Milton were more intense—"a little unusual,— Bunting said.
The NYT notes that on October 10, the National Weather Service issued more than a hundred tornado warnings. Before Milton came ashore, more than 100 buildings were damaged, and in St. Lucie County, which is located on the other side of Florida from the Gulf coast, at least five people were killed, according to local authorities.
The winds were strong on both sides of the hurricane, but shortly before coming ashore, the hurricane "lost its balance" — due to interaction with cooler and drier air, the storm moved to the northeast. This led to the weakening of the hurricane before making landfall.
Forecasters are concerned that the hurricane season is not over yet, some of them fear that it will spread even to December, although the season officially ends on November 30.
On October 9, Milton hit the United States and intensified to the fifth category, meaning that the wind speed exceeded 252 km/h. The next day, the hurricane weakened to the first category (maximum sustained wind speed — 119-153 km/ h). The Hurricane Watch Center clarified that Milton will maintain hurricane strength as it crosses Florida, and then "gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken" after leaving the Atlantic Ocean.
Before the arrival of the hurricane, Florida authorities called for 5.5 million people to be evacuated, people began to leave on Monday, October 7. According to the latest data, at least 14 people were killed, CNN reports. 3 million people were left without electricity. Florida Governor Ron Desantis said 999 people and 105 animals had been rescued.
As a result of the rampant elements in Tampa Bay, a rare phenomenon called "reverse storm surge" occurred — the hurricane temporarily pumped out the water, leaving the bottom open, writes RBC.