Milton rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane late Monday morning.

Within hours, Milton strengthened to a Category 2, then a Category 3, then a Category 4 and finally a Category 5.

Milton now ranks as the third-greatest 24-hour wind speed intensification for a hurricane in the Atlantic Basin. (Records are based on data since the satellite era began in the 1960s.)

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    What. The. Fuck.

    I’m watching the live stream from WFLA, which is a St. Petersburg station. He’s a photo of a bridge leaving the area right now (just after noon on Tuesday Florida time.)

    Either most people with cars have evacuated or there are a lot of people who may learn the last lesson of their lives. I hope the former.

    Also, the eye apparently will pass right over Cape Canaveral.

  • SmokumJoe@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    You would think religious people would say this is a sign. They probably do but apply it in the wrong direction.

    • Ultraviolet@lemmy.world
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      1 hour ago

      It’s only a sign when it hits blue states. In red states it’s HAARP or the Jewish space lasers.

  • Agent641@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    Don’t hurricanes normally go the other way? I thought they normally blow towards the southwest?

    • ghen@sh.itjust.works
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      4 hours ago

      Gulf hurricanes can do this, and they can become some of the strongest hurricanes very quickly. One or two of the massive storms in 2005 were gulf hurricanes

  • Tja@programming.dev
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    10 hours ago

    Within hours, Milton strengthened to a Category 2, then a Category 3, then a Category 4 and finally a Category 5.

    Someone had a word quota to fill.

    • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      TBH a lot of whats about to happen to Florida in the coming months will be self inflicted because of their politics.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    NOAA changed Milton’s heading on Hurricanes.gov to plead with people to listen to evacuation orders.

    We’ll all be very happy to feel silly if this doesn’t go the way it looks like it’s going to go. But please for the love of humanity get out of the way of this thing.

    • Filthmontane@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I’ve lived in the Tampa Bay area my entire life, never evacuated before, and I left last night. Fuck Milton. Not worth riding this one out.

    • IMNOTCRAZYINSTITUTION@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      I was listening to a live stream with a couple meteorologists explaining everything. they were fairly jovial and laid back seeming guys but at one point, one of them got a deadly serious tone to his voice and started talking about how this one can’t be rode out, can’t be survived.

    • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      Why evacuate? Just write your name, DoB, and SSN on our arms and legs, and use a waterproof sharpie for that. Just in case, you know?

    • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      My friend lives in Florida and has not, nor his words “will ever” evacuate for a “stupid hurricane.” I’ll give you one guess who he’s voting for.

      • nutsack@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        i don’t understand how to use this website. where do i click on to see who needs to get out

        • WldFyre@lemm.ee
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          1 hour ago

          I’m not sure NOA is responsible for evacuation orders, IIRC they advise state and local governments on who should evacuate and it’s up to the local government to coordinate and reach out to their populations.

        • tweeks@feddit.nl
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          2 hours ago

          I need only three things:

          1. Where is the hurricane
          2. What path did it already take
          3. How strong / fast is it

          Bonus: Prediction path it will take.

          I was thinking this would be very easy to visualize. From such important data sources you’d expect more.

  • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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    13 hours ago

    I’m gonna tell myself that this is finally bad enough to spur widespread action on global warming as a way of feeling better about it and you can all preemptively shut up with your reality checks.

    • Saleh@feddit.org
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      3 hours ago

      In Germany more than 200 people died in a severe flooding in 2021. Just 2 month prior the conservative party CDU removed flood protection laws in one of the states most affected. In one of the towns completely destroyed they were again voted strongest just a few months later.

    • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      4 hours ago

      I’m gonna tell myself that this is finally bad enough to spur widespread action on global warming

      I, too, want to believe that humans are capable for caring enough about themselves, each other, and their descendants in order to put in place measures to make the world better for everyone.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      Tbh I’ve learned a lot about how thermal energy affects these storms and I gotta say, the only people who are gonna be living in Florida 20 years from now are people who live in submarines.

      We ought to be executing oil company CEOs for treason.

  • TriflingToad@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    Currently in my house in Florida, where I am looks to be not on the direct path but not completely free. Hurricanes can move a lot, especially when they get on land and staet losing speed.

    Once we evacuated 5 hours in a car with all our animals (at the time 2 big sweaty dogs) in a car that wasnt even the size of a minivan. We packed everything we needed just in case. Once we got inside the hotel we booked we took a ~2 hour nap and upon checking the storm again it had moved to come right to where the hotel is. We then had to drive 5 hours BACK home where we began.

    Anyhoo, wish us luck! I don’t wanna evacuate with 4 cats and a large dog haha

    • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net
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      14 hours ago

      Good luck to you and your family. I don’t know anyone in Florida, so I will be thinking of you as a proxy for all the people I am concerned for in the potential path of this hurricane.

    • strawberrysocial@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      I wish you luck trifling toad🤞 Escaping a situation with just people is difficult, with additional animals makes it so much more stressful. Especially cats since they have to be put in a crate and need a litter box etc.

  • Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    I guess their god doesn’t like florida. I wonder why?

    On a more serious note I really hope all the decent people of florida the best of luck. To the rest I hope you only get thoughts and prayers.

    • Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works
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      58 minutes ago

      I wonder why?

      Anytime Americans are asked which state would you get rid of, Florida is the top answer.

      Maybe their god is starting to listen.

      /s

    • CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      Floridas gonna be the next Atlantis, a mysterious land that vanished under the ocean from which tales came of strange people comitting outragous deeds. Future historians will see the tales of the mighty ‘Florida Men’ and assume it was some kind of myth.

      • Dasus@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        More like Doggerland a place having verifiably existed, and which would hold answers to what man’s primitive ancestors were doing, but which we don’t really go to look at, because studying shit that’s underwater is expensive and we’re not that interested.

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    So is trump at Mar a Lego right now standing proudly on the front lawn for this? Is he staying there, “standing his ground” against the “climate hoax”?

    Or is he hiding somewhere else safe, with an excuse, like a coward who’s actually afraid of climate change?

  • Gerudo@lemm.ee
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    21 hours ago

    Good thing DeSantis won’t pick up the phone from Biden or Harris to start funding relief.