How Hurricane Milton Became Such a Monster — and Why It Matters More Than Ever
In times when ‘natural’ disasters are anything but natural, can we collectively steer our future?
At nearly every turn, Hurricane Milton defied expectations. What started as a seemingly innocuous tropical depression over the southern Gulf of Mexico — a region rarely affected by hurricanes this late in the season — grew into a sprawling monster that shattered intensity records as it barreled southeast toward the Yucatan Peninsula.
Barely two weeks after Hurricane Helene’s devastating assault on the US west coast, Milton’s meteoric rise to Category 5 status in just 48 hours left veteran meteorologists struggling to find words and even having a mental breakdown on live television.
What followed was nothing short of terrifying.
This is how Milton transformed from a tropical disturbance into a catastrophic force of nature.
A Pacific Anomaly
While most hurricanes approaching the U.S. typically follow a familiar path — spinning off Africa’s west coast, traversing the Atlantic, and gorging on the Caribbean’s warm waters — Hurricane Milton rewrote the rulebook with terrifying efficiency.
