In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday pushed back on claims that the climate is causing stronger hurricanes.
When asked during a news conference about whether it’s unusual for tornadoes to occur during hurricanes, DeSantis noted, “You can go back and find tornadoes through all of human history,” before citing how intense hurricanes hit Florida in the early part of the 20th century.
“There is precedent for all this in history,” DeSantis said. “It is hurricane season. You are going to have tropical weather.”
Earlier this week, Hurricane Milton developed rapidly near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before it developed into a Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It weakened to become a Category 3 storm before it hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday evening.
Some researchers, including University of Albany researcher Kristen Corbosiero, have said that they believe hurricanes are becoming more intense due to what they say is a warming climate.
“With more and stronger storms, the chances of a major hurricane hitting the U.S. increase,” Corbosiero said earlier this week.
But DeSantis pointed out that the strongest storm to hit Florida was in the 1930s when the “Labor Day hurricane was head and shoulders above any powerful hurricane we’ve had in the state of Florida,” noting that it was measured to have 892 millibars of minimum central pressure—or the lowest of any storm recorded to have hit the state. Hurricanes are generally stronger as the minimum central pressure drops.
The 1935 Labor Day storm, he said, was the most powerful hurricane to hit Florida since the mid-1850s and wiped out the Florida Keys. The storm had the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic basin until Hurricane Gilbert, which had a minimum pressure of 888 millibars, in 1988.
“I just think people should put this in perspective,” the governor said. “They try to take different things that happen with tropical weather and act like it’s something. There is nothing new under the sun.”
“This is on both sides,” DeSantis said on Thursday. “You kind of have some people think government can do this, and others think it’s all because of fossil fuels. The reality is what we see, there’s precedent for all this in history. It is hurricane season, you are going to have tropical weather.”
While DeSantis and his administration did not go into specifics, at least one lawmaker, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), following Hurricane Helene’s impact on much of the southern United States, wrote on X: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
Milton’s Aftermath
At least 16 people died as a result of Hurricane Milton.The hurricane, however, spared densely populated Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared didn’t materialize.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, the system flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium, and toppled a construction crane.
As residents assessed damage to their property, more than 2.5 million customers in Florida remained without power Friday morning, according to Poweroutage.us. But the state’s vital tourism industry started to return to normal, with several theme parks preparing to reopen.
Meanwhile, Florida theme parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld planned to reopen Friday after an assessment of the effects of the storm.
Orlando International Airport, the state’s busiest airport, said departures for domestic flights and international flights would resume on Friday, after resuming domestic arrivals on Thursday evening. The airport had minor damage, including a few leaks and downed trees.
