Hurricane Milton is already the second strongest Gulf hurricane in history, closely followed by Hurricane Rita. Experts predict the Category 5 storm will only intensify as it heads toward Florida.

Milton’s minimum central pressure — one of the primary ways meteorologists measure a hurricane’s strength, with lower ratings indicating greater strength — was estimated at 897 millibars according to the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) Monday evening report.

That puts the storm second for the strongest hurricane to ever form in the Gulf of Mexico in recorded history – making landfall just behind 2005’s devastating Hurricane Rita, which reached a low of 895 mb.

But Milton still has a full day before the storm is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, and Fox Weather meteorologists predicted the storm could grow even stronger.

Milton’s winds are currently blowing at 185 mph as it barrels toward the heart of Tampa Bay, a situation that could become “one of the worst hurricane disasters in history,” according to Fox Weather’s hurricane expert Bryan Narcross, as storm surges reach entail a height of 4.5 meters. low-lying city.

Below are the other strongest Gulf hurricanes in history and how they compare to Milton.

No. 1 Hurricane Rita, 2005 – 895 mb

Hurricane Rita slammed into the Louisiana coastline on September 24, 2005 as a Category 3 storm traveling at 115 mph.

The peak reached the Gulf of Mexico three days earlier as a Category 5 storm with winds of 190 miles per hour, setting the wave pressure record at 895 millibars, according to the National Weather Service.

As it approached the coast, the storm weakened but still brought storm surges of up to 5.5 meters in some places.

Only seven deaths were directly attributed to the storm, but more than a hundred are reported to have died from the aftereffects, evacuations, and subsequent infrastructure accidents.

No. 3 Hurricane Allen, 1988 – 899 mb

Hurricane Allen reached a peak strength of 899 mb on August 7, 1988, with winds of 300 km/h.

Over the next three days it weakened mercifully, making landfall on August 10 at 115 mph and 945 mb.

The storm surge was only five feet high, while Allen spawned an unusually large number of tornadoes across Texas, causing more than two dozen injuries.

There were two deaths directly caused by the storm in the US, while more than thirty were indirectly related.

No. 4 Hurricane Camille, 1969 – 900 mb

Hurricane Camille was one of only four Category 5 storms to make landfall in the US in history.

When it struck Mississippi on August 17, 1969, it had winds of 150 miles per hour and a pressure of 900 mb.

The storm’s destruction was widespread: High winds destroyed buildings, while intense rainfall brought to the interior of the US caused severe flooding.

At least 256 deaths have been directly linked to the storm.

No. 5 Hurricane Katrina, 2005 – 902 mb

Hurricane Katrina reached its peak strength on August 28, 2005, with a magnitude of 902 MB and Category 5 winds of 175 mph.

By the time it made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, it had weakened to a Category 3 storm, but the rainwater it brought overwhelmed New Orleans’ levees – causing the city to breach and flood, leading to a massive loss of life that made Katrina the deadliest American city. hurricane in recorded history.

At least 1,392 people died in the storm, with some estimates putting the toll higher.