Hurricane Milton approached known maximum storm strength limits on Monday night, with wind gusts briefly topping 200 miles per hour.
The blistering power of the storm — the second most powerful ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico — prompted calls for a new Category 6 designation.
“This is nothing short of astronomical,” Florida meteorologist Noah Bergren said as Milton reached sustained winds of 180 mph and “gusts 200+ mph.”
“I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe to you the storm’s small eye and intensity,” he marveled.
“This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean water can produce.”