TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Drone footage captured a monstrous wave inside Hurricane Milton as the powerful storm passed through the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.
A sailing drone from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) measured the 28-foot wave with wind gusts of 75.98 miles per hour, located approximately 40 nautical miles from the center of Milton.
"This research represents a collaborative endeavor to better understand the role of the ocean in hurricanes," the agency posted on the social media platform X.
Milton made landfall as an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near Siesta Key, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, according to the NOAA's National Hurricane Center.
Although Tampa avoided a direct hit, the storm continued to bring a potentially deadly storm surge to the city and other densely populated areas along Florida's Gulf Coast, including St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Fort Myers.
Milton is just the latest system in what scientists are calling one of the weirdest storm seasons they've ever witnessed. In just 46.5 hours, Milton intensified from a 40 mph tropical storm to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane before dropping to Category 3 status.
Warm water fueled Milton's amazingly rapid intensification. It also grew so potent because it managed to avoid high-level cross winds that often decapitate storms, especially in autumn.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
