We often talk very candidly about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, but forget that hurricanes can be devastating, destructive forces here on Earth. Hurricane Milton is a reminder of the terrible consequences here on earth, reports say universetoday.com.
It came out of nowhere and appeared in the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm and two days later it was a Category 5 hurricane. It tracked and made landfall near Siesta Key in Florida. NASA tracked the storm from space and recorded the high sea temperatures that fueled the storm, allowing it to grow. Images have been released from the ISS showing the enormous size of the hurricane.
Hurricanes form over warm oceans, usually in tropical regions of Earth. Their formation usually begins as a collection of thunderstorms over bodies of water where the temperature is at least 26.5 degrees Celsius. The warm, moist air above the ocean rises and creates an area of lower pressure at the surface.
The low pressure causes air to flow in, heat up and rise. It then cools and condenses to form clouds that release the heat. The heat then warms the surrounding air, creating a continuous cycle of rising warm air and inward movement of air.
The system grows and eventually acquires a rotating motion due to the rotation of the Earth. When winds are recorded as sustaining above 70 miles per hour, it is classified as a hurricane. They can continue to grow as long as they provide a source of warm, moist air, so usually they come on land and begin to weaken.
Florida residents had barely recovered from the effects of Hurricane Helene before warnings were received of another hurricane brewing over the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Milton began forming on October 5, and two days later it had become a Category 5 hurricane.
The cause of this leviathan of a hurricane is the higher than average sea temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico. Milton’s wind speeds rapidly increased from 17 to 175 miles per hour in 24 hours as the hurricane strengthened.
However, it wasn’t just the warm oceans that intensified Milton so quickly; vertical wind shear was also an essential component. This change in winds with height interacts with the developing thunderstorms and usually reduces the ferocity of a hurricane.
In Milton’s case, it was in a low-shear environment, meaning there is usually very little difference in wind speed or direction as altitude changes. This allowed the storm to grow without being controlled.
The National Hurricane Center (part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has been tracking Milton since its inception, paying particular attention to where it was likely to hit land and what path it was likely to follow. They were also able to determine (largely based on images and data from orbiting infrastructure) that an eyewall replacement cycle had been completed.
This process occurs when a new eye begins to develop around the old eye. The new eye slowly shrinks and eventually replaces the old eye. Such events can cause the hurricane to grow but reduce wind speed. It may occur several times, but then increase in intensity again as conditions permit.
With astronauts aboard the space station and the remote sensing technology available to them, NASA plays a key role in the disaster management teams. Their Disaster Response Coordination System has been used to support agencies dealing with the storm on the ground. They provide maps, images and data to help manage flooding, power outages and rainfall.
Our thoughts go out to everyone on the entire team affected by Hurricane Milton Universe today and anomalies.com.
