Weather Insider: Tracking Hurricane Milton

The graphic below shows the IR (infrared) satellite imagery from Hurricane Milton, now an extremely strong category 5 storm. The most prominent feature of the storm, as will all mature hurricanes, is the eye in the middle of the storm. The extremely tight eye signifies exceptionally strong winds. This storm has undergone "extreme rapid intensification" in just the last 24 hours.

As of 5 PM Monday (our time), Hurricane Milton had a minimum central pressure of 897mb. That makes Milton one of the top 5 most intense hurricanes on record in the Atlantic Basin and the second strongest storm ever in the Gulf of Mexico, behind Hurricane Rita in 2004. At this time, the storm has maximum sustained winds of 180 mph.

Here's an interesting fact... After a particularly destructive and deadly storm, the World Meteorological Organization retires that storm's name. Milton was the replacement name for Hurricane Michael which was the last category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

There is not much in the way of Milton for the next 24 hours. It is expected to maintain category 5 status until it approaches Florida. As the storm approaches the state, it will enter a more unfavorable environment. This will allow the storm to weaken, but the extent to which that happens remains to be seen. Between now and then, the storm is likely to experience an (or multiple) eyewall replacement cycle(s). This may cause the storm to weaken slightly but also grow in size.

Stay with News Channel 3 for the latest details!