Hurricane Milton dropped rain around Tampa Bay once every 1,000 years

Hurricane Milton dropped so much rain over parts of the Tampa Bay area in Florida that it was a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event.

According to rainfall data from the National Weather Service, 18.31 inches, or more than 1.5 feet, fell in St. Petersburg during the 24-hour period in which the storm made landfall.

That included a staggering 5.09 inches in one hour, from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET – a figure that is thought to have about a 0.1% chance of occurring in any given year.

“This is crazy! “St. Petersburg reported 5.09 inches of rain in ONE HOUR and 9.04 inches in 3 hours,” wrote Matthew Cappucci, atmospheric scientist and senior meteorologist at MyRadar Weather, on X on Wednesday. “This is rarer than a thousand-year rain event.”

Milton made landfall near Siesta Key as a strong Category 3 storm at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Other significant rainfall totals across Florida included 14.01 inches in Clearwater Beach, 13.09 inches in Baskin, 11.43 inches in Tampa and 10.12 inches in Seminole.

It takes time to understand the influence of climate change on individual weather events, so scientists have not yet been able to fully analyze its impact on Milton. But in general, experts know that global warming is making storms wetter and more intense.

Studies have shown that global warming is increasing sea surface temperatures, giving storms additional energy and causing them to gain speed and intensity. The unusually high sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico that helped strengthen hurricanes Milton and Helene were 200 to 500 times more likely due to climate change, according to a study released Wednesday.

A warmer atmosphere can also hold more water: for every degree Fahrenheit the planet warms, the atmosphere can hold about 3 to 4% more moisture. As a result, storms can dump enormous amounts of rain over the country.

Milton's torrential rain along Florida's Gulf Coast quickly flooded streets, homes and other buildings. The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for Tampa and St. Petersburg that lasted until 2:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

Meteorologists had expected heavy rain as Milton raced toward Florida. In the hours before landfall, the National Hurricane Center expected 6 to 12 inches of rain over the central and northern portions of the Florida Peninsula through Thursday, with local totals of up to 18 inches.

Even the east coast of Florida was hit by rain. According to the National Hurricane Center, preliminary measurements Wednesday showed 7 inches had fallen in St. Augustine, 7.38 inches in Titusville and 3.05 inches in Daytona Beach.

Hurricane Milton has moved out to sea again, but more rainfall and flooding is expected in parts of eastern and central Florida through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.