Projected weather patterns in Ireland are expected to become more complex to anticipate consequent to Hurricane Milton, scheduled to strike the Florida Gulf Coast by Wednesday or Thursday. Presently a Category 5 hurricane, expectations deem Milton might degrade to a Category 4 upon reaching land, possibly becoming one of the most devastating storms the region has seen.
Late this evening or in the early hours of Thursday is when the storm is anticipated to hit along Florida’s west-central coastline. The storm is set to continue eastwards off the Florida coast by Thursday afternoon. Currently, the storm is advancing northeast at a speed of 22km/h, with its outer bands already affecting Florida.
Jennifer Foran, a senior meteorologist at Met Éireann, stated that while Ireland won’t directly suffer any consequences from the dissipating storm, it could have an “indirect influence as it departs from Florida.”
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Foran explained, “As it departs from Florida, it’ll lose its strength and cease to be a hurricane. Upon crossing the Atlantic, it will weaken, but it will interact with the jet stream, leading to an uncertainty in our weather forecasts.”
The ambiguity of the weather in the forthcoming days is making it tricky to offer any tangible weather predictions. Presently, the weather across Ireland is expected to be “generally chilly, dry, and sunny, with occasional showers”, and it is anticipated to become “more unpredictable starting next week”.
Hurricane Milton is en route towards the Tampa Bay urban area this week, a region inhabited by over three million people. Though meteorologists anticipate the storm’s path could alter before landfall late on Wednesday night or early Thursday.
The storm is taking an uncommon west-east course through the Gulf of Mexico and is set to yield a lethal storm surge of 3m (10ft) or greater across substantial portions of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Over a million people residing in coastal regions are subjected to evacuation orders.