“MILTON RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES INTO A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE,” the NHC announced. “Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that Milton has strengthened to a category 5. The max sustained winds are estimated to be 160 mph with higher gusts.”

Milton. Two major hurricanes battered or are set to batter parts of Florida in the last week and a half, which has many trying to understand the scale of the weather systems. The National Hurricane Center uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to determine storm categories.