--- title: "Hurricane Milton Is so Insanely Powerful, It’s Literally Just a Giant Red Smudge on Meteorological Maps" description: "Satellite imagery shows the might of powerful Hurricane Milton, which is due to make landfall in Florida's western coast this afternoon." date: "2024-10-08" modified: "2024-10-08" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hurricane-milton-powerful" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "extreme weather" - "hurricanes" - "the digest" --- # Hurricane Milton Is so Insanely Powerful, It’s Literally Just a Giant Red Smudge on Meteorological Maps ![Satellite imagery shows the might of powerful Hurricane Milton, which is due to make landfall in Florida's western coast this afternoon.]() *\Image: Noah Bergren\* ## Extremely Dangerous Terrifying imagery reveals the might of Hurricane Milton. The hurricane, which emerged as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend and is [expected to make landfall]() on the western coast of Florida Wednesday evening, was declared an epic Category Five hurricane yesterday after rapidly intensifying in the gulf. The scale of the storm is staggering: wind speeds have topped a treacherous 180 miles per hour with sustained gusts of over 200 miles per hour. Over [one million]() Floridians were urged to evacuate. Meteorologists and storm experts, meanwhile, have taken to social media to detail the magnitude of the severe weather event. "This is nothing short of astronomical," reads a [widely-shared warning]() from Orlando's weeknight meteorologist Noah Bergren on X-formerly-Twitter. In his post, Bergren shared astonishing radar images revealing Milton to be what amounts to a massive red blob, swallowing the entire map. Red and maroon coloring on a weather radar map [signals]() torrential rainfall, flash flooding, and hurricane conditions. "I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe \[to\] you the storm's small eye and intensity," Bergren wrote. "This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth's atmosphere over this ocean water can produce." https://twitter.com/NbergWX/status/1843444771135861007 ## Low Pressure Milton has since fallen to a [still very dangerous Category 4 storm](), and could — emphasis on could — be relegated to a Category 3 by the time it makes landfall in Florida late Wednesday evening. (A Category Five storm is the most extreme type of hurricane currently recognized.) The storm comes barely a week after deadly Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc in Appalachia, causing unprecedented destruction in western North Carolina and Tennessee — areas [historically safe]() from hurricanes. Though Milton is expected to weaken slightly as it approaches the shore, it shouldn't be underestimated. As [*The New York Times* points out](), [2005's Hurricane Rita]() lowered to a Category 3 intensity before barrelling into Louisiana and Texas. But Rita was nonetheless wildly destructive, causing billions of dollars in damages and killing more than 100 people. Milton has similarly reached historic levels of strength. As of 8 PM last night, when those wild radar images were taken, the storm recorded the fifth lowest central pressure reading for any Atlantic hurricane on record. That makes the storm the fifth most powerful in the Atlantic's recorded history, [per ]()*[Newsweek]().* Government agencies are continuing to warn Floridians of the storm's ferocity. "While fluctuations in intensity are expected," reads the [National Hurricane Center's latest advisory](), "Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida." Local officials are also warning people to evacuate the area as soon as possible. "I can say, without any dramatization whatsoever, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor [told *CNN* yesterday](). **More on hurricanes:** [*Deadly Hurricane Beryl Supercharged by Climate Change, Experts Say*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()