Explosively intensifying Hurricane Milton is the latest freaky system to come out of what veteran hurricane scientists call the weirdest storm season of their lives.
Before this Atlantic hurricane season started, forecasters said everything lined up to be a monster busy year, and it began that way when Beryl was the earliest storm to reach Category 5 on record . Then, nothing. From Aug. 20 - the traditional start of peak hurricane season - to Sept. 23 it was record quiet, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Then five hurricanes popped up between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, more than double the old record of two. On Sunday and Monday, there were three hurricanes in October at the same time - something that never happened before - Klotzbach said. In just 46.5 hours, Hurricane Milton went from just forming as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds and then it got even stronger.
"I was looking as far back as the Atlantic records go and there's not really any good analogs for this season, just how neurotic it's been," Klotzbach said. "You know, obviously the season ain't over yet. We'll see what pops up after Milton."
MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel has been studying hurricane seasons since the 1980s and he's never seen anything quite like this year. That includes a year when there were so many storms forecasters ran out of names and had to use the Greek alphabet.
