National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Milton struck Florida's central west coast on Wednesday night, making landfall near Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds reaching 120 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Siesta Key, a barrier island south of Sarasota, experienced the brunt of the storm. As Milton advanced inland, its intensity decreased, but it remained a hurricane for now.

Storm-battered Florida braced Tuesday for a direct hit from Hurricane Milton, as U.S. President Joe Biden begged residents to flee what he warned could be the worst natural disaster to hit the U.S. state in a century.

As the second huge hurricane in as many weeks rumbled toward Florida's west coast, a sense of looming catastrophe spread as people raced to board up homes and flee.

Rescuers struggled on Sunday with washed-out bridges and debris-strewn roads in the search for survivors of devastating Storm Helene, which killed at least 63 people across five states and caused massive power outages.

At least two people have died in southern Mexico from the passage of Typhoon John, now downgraded to a tropical storm, authorities said.

Currently the National Hurricane Center uses a measure called the Saffir-Simpson Windscale to classify the intensity of hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere & alert people in the area to take appropriate precautions

Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a dangerous Category 3 storm early Wednesday as it steamed toward Florida's Big Bend region, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Storm Idalia strengthened as it passed by the western tip of Cuba on Monday, taking aim at the Gulf coast of Florida as forecasters predicted it could become a hurricane "at any time."

NASA launched two small satellites designed to track tropical cyclones hour by hour from a base in New Zealand yesterday, in a project that could improve weather predictions on devastating storms.

AFP - Hurricane Florence smashed into the US East Coast Friday with howling winds, torrential rains and life-threatening storm surges as emergency crews scrambled to rescue hundreds of people stranded in their homes by flood waters.

Forecasters warned of catastrophic flooding and other mayhem from the monster storm, which is only Category 1 but physically sprawling and dangerous.

Wilmington. Hurricane Florence weakened to a Category 2 storm on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center, but remained on course to deliver a powerful blow to the US east coast, AFP reported.