Meteorologist Breaks Down in Tears While Describing Devastation of Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton brought a US meteorologist with 33 years of experience reporting on hurricanes to tears live on air.
According to NBC’s John Morales, the emotional moment was triggered by atmospheric pressure.
“It’s funny how millibars can make a weather geek lose it,” he remarked.
The drop in barometric pressure is the strongest indicator of a storm’s increasing intensity.
Get the latest updates on Hurricane Milton – tourists stranded
The forecaster had just received an update from US weather services revealing that Milton’s pressure had plummeted by 50 millibars in just 10 hours.
“It just dropped like a rock,” Mr Morales described the situation.
He had never witnessed a hurricane intensify so rapidly, transitioning from a tropical storm to a category five hurricane in barely a day.
But it was the driving force behind that intensification that also contributed to his unusual emotional response.
Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are currently two to three degrees warmer than the 20th-century averages.
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Plane flies through Hurricane Milton
Warm seas fuel storms, with increased moisture evaporation from warmer oceans adding extra water to the storm and resulting in heavier rainfall.
Mr Morales attributed his emotional response to a growing anxiety about the role of unchecked global warming in making Hurricane Milton exceptionally intense.
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‘It’s serious this time’: Storm approaches US
The hurricane weakened overnight but has now regained strength as a Category 5 storm. It is expected to weaken to a Category 3 storm just before hitting central Florida.
Despite this, its highly unusual path and immense size still make it the largest storm to ever hit this part of Florida in recorded history.
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Find out more about Hurricane Milton
Evacuations ahead of ‘worst storm of the century’
Another critical factor is the fact that Milton will compound the disaster, plowing through the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, which has scattered debris across the Florida peninsula.
This will turn debris, fallen tree branches, collapsed structures, and garbage bins into potentially dangerous projectiles, contributing to further devastation.
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There is uncertainty surrounding the implications of a warming climate on the frequency of hurricanes each year.
However, the link between warming and the intensity of future storms is now widely accepted.
