Hurricane Milton strikes Florida weeks after Helene
A rapidly intensifying storm menaced the Tampa Bay area and spawned a dangerous tornado outbreak as it came ashore.
Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast this October, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene had devastated the region, compounding the misery for a state still reeling and testing the limits of its emergency response.
Milton underwent explosive rapid intensification over the exceptionally warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, briefly reaching the top of the hurricane scale and alarming forecasters with the speed of its strengthening. It menaced the heavily populated Tampa Bay area, prompting massive evacuations, before making landfall to the south and sparing the bay the worst-case surge.
Even so, the storm brought damaging winds, heavy rain and flooding, and it spawned a remarkable and deadly outbreak of tornadoes across Florida well ahead of the centre's arrival, an unusual and dangerous feature that caught some communities off guard.
Coming so soon after Helene, Milton strained resources and tested the resilience of residents, many of whom were asked to evacuate from areas still littered with debris from the previous storm, which could become dangerous projectiles in high winds.
Milton's rapid intensification over record-warm Gulf waters added to mounting evidence that warming seas are fuelling storms that strengthen with frightening speed. The one-two punch of Helene and Milton made for one of the most punishing stretches of the hurricane season, and a stark demonstration of the compounding risks facing the Gulf Coast.