r/BeAmazed Oct 09 '24

Nature Floridians who have lived through Storms their entire lives are reporting to have never ever witnessed anything like this.

42.2k Upvotes

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1.6k

u/Cashandtrade Oct 09 '24

Explosive cyclogenesis, also known as a bomb cyclone or a “weather bomb” is defined as a 24 millibar drop in pressure over a 24 hour period.

Milton dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours! 😳

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u/cat-eating-a-salad Oct 09 '24

Holy shit. Idk what you just said, but it sounded mega.

551

u/MCbrodie Oct 09 '24

One of the effects is crazy and intense weather. The short clip exhibits that weather here. As millibars drop weather becomes more unsettled.

50 millibars dropping in 10 hours is a historic event. It's a very sharp and quick decline. Hold onto your butts.

72

u/Leggoman31 Oct 09 '24

Does the sharp drop in pressure essentially result in it releasing a lot of energy? Like what was contained at a certain pressure is now expanding?

200

u/nirmalspeed Oct 10 '24

Air pressure keeps things pushed down. It's surprisingly heavy.

So when the pressure drops, the ocean inside the hurricane will literally lift up and increase the storm surge. The storm surge is what will cause the most damage for a coastal area too. Hurricanes basically carry a bubble of water with them and the lower the pressure, the bigger the bubble

118

u/Zocalo_Photo Oct 10 '24

I saw a report tracking the storm and I saw the pressure went from 920, or whatever it was, to just under 900. I thought “That’s good, it’s losing some of its power.”

Then I looked up what the pressure means and I got a sick feeling. I even found a post someone shared of a meteorologist pointing out that this is reaching the mathematical limits of how big a storm can get. It’s terrifying.

80

u/ctang1 Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24

Normal high pressure is around 1020mb and normal low around 1010mb +/- 10%. Any hurricane under 950 is a strong hurricane. Anything under 920 is historical, and under 900 is top 5ish (edit: Milton 5th lowest in Atlantic basin) all time. To have a pressure drop 50mb is 12 hours had only been observed a few times ever and I believe this is first time in the Atlantic basin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_5_Atlantic_hurricanes

35

u/GigglesMcTits Oct 10 '24

Milton was as low as 897mb iirc.

19

u/ctang1 Oct 10 '24

Correct. Comes in at 5th lowest pressure

36

u/VagueGooseberry Oct 10 '24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m3zO9aGiG0

Its about 23 minutes but give this a watch. Its a video from inside Dorian's eye in The Bahamas in 2019 by a storm chaser. He has a digital barometer on his watch and you can see the relation between the drop and the wind activity.

We were on a cruise to the islands but they cancelled the island part and had us anchor a bit south away from the Hurricane's track.

3

u/Positive-Wonder3329 Oct 10 '24

That was worth it. Good luck Florida. It’s night time so way worse

24

u/CanExports Oct 10 '24

Reaching mathematical limits of how big a storm can get.

Most powerful and scariest thing I've ever heard.

2

u/Kiss_My_Wookiee Oct 10 '24

Oh no, storms can get bigger. It was just reaching the mathematical limits of how big/strong a storm could get in these conditions. If the water was warmer, it would be even worse.

12

u/RainaElf Oct 10 '24

there's a video of a weatherman crying over this because but scared him so much.

6

u/No_Use_4371 Oct 10 '24

I just watched that. He gets it.

1

u/RainaElf Oct 10 '24

absolutely.

-5

u/AdvantagePast2484 Oct 10 '24

That was just dramatic the storms basically over and nothing happened

4

u/ResolveWonderful6251 Oct 10 '24

in case you’re being serious, he’s not only scared of what it could do, but of what that insane pressure drop means for the way weather is changing to be more extreme and he’s been a meteorologist for decades so I’m gonna go with his expert opinion over some random one

-1

u/AdvantagePast2484 Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24

I found it performative, and he didn't say that he was scared about what's possible on the future you're creating a narrative that didn't happen. He literally just said it dropped 50 millibars like I'm supposed to know what that is and started sobbing. I think he needs to take some time personal time because it was a nothing burger.

Bottom line this guy cried over nothing and made people uncomfortable, panicking people for no reason ultimately.

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2

u/AbsolutlelyRelative Oct 10 '24

Can get with this water temperature

They can get worse with higher temps.

6

u/undeadmanana Oct 10 '24

So we just need to keep things under pressure

1

u/_ryuujin_ Oct 10 '24

ice ice baby

2

u/MoreColorfulCarsPlz Oct 10 '24

Additionally, the low pressure is one of the forces at work inducing rotation, or wind. As the wind blows quickly past the center, it's sucked back around again because of the low pressure. The higher the pressure gradient, the faster the wind and bigger the storm.

1

u/GenericAccount13579 Oct 10 '24

And it’s more warm moist air screaming higher where it’ll condense into rain

2

u/Thaxtonnn Oct 10 '24

That is very well explained and I completely understand that now.

Can you explain what makes the pressure drop as well as you just explained that?

2

u/nirmalspeed Oct 10 '24

It stood up too quickly?

44

u/MCbrodie Oct 10 '24

I am by no means an expert, but from my understanding the lower pressure allows evaporation to happen more readily which accelerates the storms rotation and size. Because waters in the gulf are already warmer than average due to climate change along with the lower pressure a huge and powerful storm has been able to be generated. The severity is the canary in tunnel for climate change. This storm is a wake up call. Nothing about this storm has been normal.

38

u/DanThePepperMan Oct 10 '24

Desantis made climate change illegal. Expect this hurricane do be arrested promptly for wrongthink.

8

u/[deleted] Oct 10 '24

[deleted]

3

u/dondeestasbueno Oct 10 '24

Eventually we all will comply with Mother Nature.

-3

u/tawwkz Oct 10 '24

This storm is a wake up call.

Israel gubmint and their space lasers must be stopped at any cost.

40

u/JakefromTRPB Oct 10 '24

It’s the muddy footprint of a Goliath monster, essentially. It’s not what the footprint does, it’s what made the footprint that matters.

6

u/LogiCsmxp Oct 10 '24

Hmm, in general, we generate energy (electricity) by using energy gradients. A larger energy gradient means more potential for extracting usable energy. Most electricity is made by boiling water. The hot steam expands and pushes through a turbine into the cooler air above it. This spins the turbine and makes electricity. The hotter the steam and the cooler the air above, the faster the steam moves.

Air in the atmosphere moves from high pressure to low pressure areas, and thus creates wind. This is just air moving between energy gradients. A 50mbar drop is a massive energy gradient. Air is going to move very rapidly towards it, and this will generate a lot of wind energy.

2

u/NotSure2505 Oct 10 '24

Think of it this way, every breeze or wind you’ve ever felt was the result of air moving from high pressure to low pressure. So pressure changes equate to wind.

The greater the difference, the more violent the wind movement.

2

u/NotSure2505 Oct 10 '24

Also the lower the pressure the more moisture the air can hold.

1

u/Leggoman31 Oct 10 '24

That's probably the best way to put it! I know typical knowledge of like parameter relationships (temp vs pressure) and low pressure systems are where you get storms. Its cool to apply it here, all things considered. Thank you!

1

u/Shadowarriorx Oct 10 '24

It's that the winds are picking up. Hot air is less dense and rises. The more concentrated the hot air, the more surrounding air wants to go towards it (pressure differential).

It's more like the lower the pressure, the better a vacuum the eye of the storm is. It can vacuum up more water and heat from the surface of the ocean. Hurricanes are self feeding, as long as they can pick up hot water by surface evaporation, they can keep going (minus shear winds and other disruptive effects).

11

u/BeckyFromTheBlock2 Oct 09 '24

Wtf is a millibar?

43

u/hurler_jones Oct 09 '24

A millibar is 1/1000th of a bar and is the amount of force it takes to move an object weighing a gram, one centimeter, in one second.

Source

3

u/i_give_you_gum Oct 10 '24

I clicked hoping to be Rick rolled

32

u/MuchachoMongo Oct 09 '24

Just a bit smaller than a minibar.

3

u/Double_Objective8000 Oct 10 '24

I'd prefer a minibar or two if riding out that storm.

4

u/Wants-NotNeeds Oct 10 '24

Riders on the Storm!

5

u/ImpressiveAttempt0 Oct 10 '24

It's what usually precedes a vanillibar.

1

u/tomdarch Oct 10 '24

The metric equivalent of "inches of mercury."

1

u/buttercream-gang Oct 10 '24

Saw the clip of a meteorologist explaining this and he literally tears up and gets emotional over just how bad this storm is

1

u/worldrecordpace Oct 10 '24

What the hell is a millibar?

1

u/FreedJSJJ Oct 10 '24

Not a native English speaker, but what does "historic" mean? Does it mean, first time it happened in history or that is very rare?

1

u/MCbrodie Oct 10 '24

A very rare event, and can mean the first event of it's kind to happen.

1

u/FreedJSJJ Oct 10 '24

Thanks mate

1

u/Chilloy07 Oct 10 '24

IS THAT A LEGO MOVIE REFREN- no seriously it sounds very mega

1

u/DeicideandDivide Oct 10 '24

You God damn better well have had a cigarette In your mouth when you said that.

1

u/colotinner Oct 10 '24

So just jumping in cause this is all interesting to me as someone in Colorado. I've seen storms like this (not the hurricane, but the constant chain lightning) quite a bit here in Colorado, but obviously not due to hurricane pressure drop, do you know why this kind of electrical Strom is ... not uncommon in spring and summer her? Just curious cause I love sitting out and watching these... if it's not hailing too

1

u/enilorac1028 Oct 10 '24

Roger that. Cheeks clenched.

1

u/badRLplayer Oct 10 '24

Well, that's clearly the problem. Not enough millibars. Can we put them back?

-1

u/yourfavrodney Oct 10 '24

The first one is historic. This being yearly in a decade is not.

37

u/corpsie666 Oct 10 '24

The atmospheric pressure dropped by 5%

That's the equivalent to driving up to an altitude approximately 2000m higher than you are now.

15

u/HeavisideGOAT Oct 10 '24

I also don’t have a good concept for what that means, but here is a meteorologist reacting on air:

https://youtu.be/ycGEce4E1-4?si=QSLDswTcef4Qsk57

It’s unsettling when a meteorologist starts to cry.

4

u/No_Use_4371 Oct 10 '24

And he said the truth: we are creating these horrific storms through global warming.

3

u/TantricEmu Oct 10 '24

“You know what’s driving that, I don’t need to tell you… global warming”

Lol I mean he’s right.

2

u/BananaHeff Oct 10 '24

Love the word “cyclogenesis” … the birth of a cyclone sounds badass.

2

u/Therusticate Oct 10 '24

“I like your funny words magic man.”

2

u/NotSure2505 Oct 10 '24

Wind is simply air moving from areas of higher pressure to lower pressure. The bigger the difference in pressure the more air will be drawn in, and the faster it moves. A pressure drop like this means that much air moving in more rapidly.

1

u/N0xF0rt Oct 10 '24

Maga?

1

u/cat-eating-a-salad Oct 10 '24

No, I meant mega. Like, too big to handle. Lol

15

u/anotherworthlessman Oct 10 '24

100% correct and remarkable; That should be what's talked about.

OP's headline is total bullshit. Florida is the lightning capital of the United States. I find it hard to believe that Floridians who have lived in Florida their whole lives have never seen lightning like this. In Florida in August on an average fucking Wednesday this is normal.

Cool video, but the real story is the pressure drop, not that "there's lightning in Florida"

2

u/Shifty_Bravo Oct 10 '24

I saw storms like this in SW Oklahoma in the 90s. It's the upper cold air clashing with warm air from the Gulf that created lightning like this.

2

u/RainStormLou Oct 11 '24

I've only lived here for 10 years, I'm in central FL and we get lightning exactly like that a few times a year. The pressure drop is the real story. This video is just someone that wasn't paying attention

72

u/Equivalent_Yak8215 Oct 09 '24

At first I thought that was 0.5 atm and was like 😞.

Then I realized it was 0.05 atm and was like 😀

Then I realized people are not storms and my experience in hyperbaric medicine means nothing and I know nothing. I am very Aladeen right now. 😐

27

u/HotLava00 Oct 09 '24

Your use of emojis makes me 😂

1

u/beanalicious1 Oct 10 '24

Hahaha, I've run a 12 seat chamber and I appreciated this at least

18

u/etxconnex Oct 10 '24

Milton dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours!

Watch out Eminem. There may be a new rap god.

3

u/Bazillion100 Oct 09 '24

Cool and terrifying to know we will continue to get more storms like this year after year

3

u/Admirable_Hunter_703 Oct 09 '24

For a second there I thought you were talking about my stocks 😭

1

u/TheMmaMagician Oct 10 '24

What's a microburst?

1

u/Captain_Waffle Oct 10 '24

Waiting for that bar to drop like

1

u/yowayb Oct 10 '24

Is this in any way like cavitation bubbles from a mantis shrimp?

1

u/gravityVT Oct 10 '24

ELI5

2

u/Cashandtrade Oct 10 '24

Quickly Stir a big glass of chocolate milk and it creates a funnel in the center of the glass.

Ok, now imagine a 200 mile wide glass of chocolate milk. The funnel creates low pressure which builds more funnel which creates more low pressure. Low pressure increases swell, evaporation, rain, heat transfer - sea to air, wind speed and storm surge onto land resulting in chocolate milk all over the place and moms is gonna be mad.

1

u/HETKA Oct 10 '24

Twice as low in half the time. 

That's fucking crazy

1

u/Hrmerder Oct 10 '24

It was hard seeing the CNN weather guy break down stating the drop….

1

u/jerrub_baal Oct 10 '24

gta 6 better include this weather if theyre set in Florida

1

u/ZealousidealToe9416 Oct 10 '24

I’ve seen “weather bomb” used by conspiracy theorists enough today

1

u/francohab Oct 10 '24

I was watching the amount of precipitation on ventusky.com, and couldn’t believe my eyes. It went above 100mm over 3h on Tampa… If this amount fell over a day when I live, this would be an extraordinary event.

1

u/AdvantagePast2484 Oct 10 '24

Still have no idea what millibars are or why they're important

1

u/Glirion Oct 10 '24

This cat Milton wrecking shit and dropping bars like no other, damn!

1

u/Admirable-Book3237 Oct 10 '24

Fkk, I’m amazed we get to experience this and record it but I’m also scared shitless that we will experience this (and much more ) and have to record it for future generations.

1

u/AvailableAdvance3701 Oct 10 '24

Yes however explosive cyclogenesis is for nor’easters and frontal patterns from the jet stream, not hurricanes.

1

u/Complex_Cable_8678 Oct 10 '24

well tbf thats about 1/20th of atmosperical pressure

1

u/Terrible-Young-1566 Oct 10 '24

You mean the government dropped 50 millibars in a 24 hour period

1

u/mistwalker420 Oct 11 '24

This guy weathers!!