Why is the sky purple in Florida during and after Hurricane Milton?

Written By ندى ماهر عبدربه on 2024/10/16

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

Arab Weather - Camera lenses captured amazing scenes of the Florida sky turning purple before the catastrophic Hurricane "Milton" made landfall last Wednesday evening. Locals described this phenomenon as "enchanting" and "disturbing", as the first pictures of it were taken hours before the Category 3 storm made landfall.

Purple skies across Florida

The purple phenomenon wasn't limited to one area, it was seen across the state, including Palm Beach and Fort Myers, and continued even after the storm passed. Despite its unusual appearance, the phenomenon is completely natural, occurring when weather conditions are ideal, and often coincides with the arrival of hurricanes.

Why does the sky turn purple?

To understand why the sky appears purple, we need to look at how particles in the atmosphere interact with light. According to the Rayleigh scattering effect, shorter wavelengths like blue and purple are scattered more easily than longer wavelengths, which is what makes the sky blue on a normal day.

AccuWeather meteorologist Brett Rossio said:

“At sunset, the color of the sky changes because of the angle of incidence of the light.” But in the case of Hurricane Milton, the main reason for the purple color was the increased amount of water vapor in the atmosphere as a result of the storm, which led to more light scattering.

Similar phenomena with previous hurricanes

Milton wasn't the only hurricane to produce purple skies; Category 1 Hurricane Florence and Category 5 Hurricane Michael, both of which hit the United States in 2018, had the same effect.

Hurricane Milton's impact on Florida

Hurricane Milton made landfall on October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 storm near Sarasota. The hurricane left widespread destruction, with millions of people without power, and the death toll from its associated tornadoes was high.

Terrifying videos showed the sky covered in black clouds as the tornado destroyed homes, uprooted trees and downed power poles. The storm caused gas stations to collapse and cars to flip over, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned of deadly tornadoes and power outages for more than three million people.

Huge material and human losses

St. Lucie County confirmed four tornado deaths, while high winds uprooted trees and blew the roof off the Tropicana Field baseball stadium. A collapsed construction crane also caused damage in downtown St. Petersburg.

In Clearwater, rescue teams went out in boats to rescue residents trapped in their homes as a result of the floods that swept through the city.

Heavy rains and flash floods due to Hurricane Milton

Since Hurricane Milton made landfall, heavy rains have caused flash flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center. Popular Disney parks have been closed, and air traffic has been halted at Tampa and Sarasota airports.

Continuous warnings after Hurricane Helen

Just two weeks after Hurricane Helen killed more than 236 people in the southeastern United States, including 15 in Florida, Diane Criswell, administrator of the Federal Disaster Response Agency, warned that Hurricane Milton would be a “deadly and catastrophic storm.”