As Hurricane Milton unleashed its fury, meteorologist John Morales found it difficult to suppress his emotions while covering the storm’s devastating impact.
John Morales, a TV meteorologist, emphasized the link between climate change and the severe conditions of Hurricane Milton as he discussed the storm’s advancement.
During his appearance on NBC on October 7, Morales became emotionally affected. Here’s a glimpse:
He remarked: “Incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane, it has dropped… it has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours.
“I apologize, this is just horrific,” he said, struggling to hold back tears.
Morales went on to say: “Maximum sustained winds are 160mph and it is just gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico where you can imagine the seas are just so incredibly hot.
“A record hot as you might imagine, you know what is driving that, I don’t need to tell you, global warming and climate change leading to this and becoming an increasing threat for the Yucatan, including Mérida and Progreso and other areas there.”
Despite his initial reaction, Morales managed to regain composure and pointed out that although the hurricane is predicted to lose strength as it nears Florida, it will still be a formidable storm.
He stated: “Let’s transition to Florida because even though it is expected to weaken on approach, it is so incredibly strong right now that you are going to find it very difficult for it to be nothing less than a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida.
“Where it makes landfall is going to be crucial because there and south of there, there will be a very high storm surge which could be 12-feet deep.”
Authorities have been stressing the seriousness of the storm, urging people to heed warnings.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor spoke with CNN on Monday, cautioning residents in hurricane evacuation zones about the potentially deadly risk of staying put.
She commented: “I can tell you right now, that they may have done that with others but there has never been one like this. Helene was a wakeup call, this is literally catastrophic.
“I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”
As of yesterday, the hurricane had intensified to the highest category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Category five is characterized by winds reaching speeds of ‘157 mph or higher (252 km/h or higher)’ with the potential for ‘catastrophic damage’.