Hurricane Milton's Perilous Track Driven by Hot Gulf Water.

Hurricane Milton's unusual west-to-east track towards Tampa, Florida is being driven by high-temperature Gulf of Mexico waters. The warm water, with temperatures reaching 86F (30C), is providing fuel for the storm, allowing it to rapidly intensify and become a Category 5 hurricane with 175 mile-per-hour winds. This warm water is unusual for October and is contributing to the potential severity of the storm. The warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico have also sustained Hurricane Helene, preventing it from cooling down and weakening before making landfall. The warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are part of a global trend of rising ocean temperatures, which have been linked to the increased intensity of typhoons, hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves. [Extracted from the article]