Might Milton morph into a Category 6 tempest? Is such an escalation within the realm of possibility?
Milton's astonishing surge from a Category 2 storm to a Category 5 behemoth within mere hours has ignited widespread speculation about the possibility of it evolving into a Category 6 hurricane
This tempest intensified with remarkable speed on Monday following its initial formation in the Gulf of Mexico What began as a relatively modest 60-mph tropical storm on Sunday morning morphed into a monstrous 180-mph Category 5 hurricane, registering an extraordinary 130 mph increase in wind speed over just 36 hours
Despite the storm's relentless escalation, the prospect of Milton being officially classified as a Category 6 hurricane remains elusive, primarily because such a category doesn't currently exist. However
it is teetering on the brink of what experts have speculated could be considered a hypothetical Category 6. This unprecedented storm strength is expected to reignite debates over whether the longstanding hurricane classification system, which rates storms from Category 1 to 5 is still sufficient, or if the National Hurricane Center may need to rethink its scale for evaluating hurricane wind speeds.
Milton has already entered an elite league by surpassing the 156 mph wind mark, earning its place as a Category 5 hurricane. However, if it reaches wind speeds of 192 mph, it will cross into an exceedingly rare realm. Only five hurricanes and typhoons have exceeded this threshold since 1980, according to Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Jim Kossin, a retired federal scientist now serving as a science advisor at the nonprofit First Street Foundation
What is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale?
The hurricane center has relied on its well-established five-category wind speed scale since the 1970s. Category 5 the highest classification, begins at a minimum wind speed of 157 mph
This scale originally designed by engineer Herbert Saffir and later refined by former hurricane center director Robert Simpson, ends at Category 5 Simpson explained in a 1999 interview that winds at this level can create such extreme destruction that, regardless of structural engineering, the damage would be catastrophic
The broad definition of Category 5 encompasses everything from “a nominal Category 5 to infinity,” according to Kossin. He emphasized that this classification is increasingly insufficient as climate change continues to produce storms of unprecedented intensity
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