Hurricane Milton is the monster storm churning through the Gulf of Mexico, and is headed toward the populated Tampa Bay region of Florida. Numerous weather experts are watching the major hurricane closely, sharing real-time updates about what’s being forecast as possibly the worst storm to strike Tampa in a century.

The wind and storm surge predictions are so dire that both Tampa mayor Jane Castor and President Joe Biden are urging residents in evacuation zones to flee, or face imminent death.

But finding accurate information online about Milton’s path and landfall isn’t easy. Conspiracy theories and misinformation about the hurricane are rife. The situation is so bad that the White House’s new Reddit account will start debunking bad information circulating about Milton and Hurricane Helene, which tore through parts of Florida and the southeast just weeks ago.

Meanwhile, bona fide weather experts are worn out by untrained posters and commenters who think they know a thing or two about tropical cyclones.

To help you filter out the falsehoods, we’ve assembled a list of trusted weather experts on X/Twitter who’ve been tracking Milton. Of course, accounts run by the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service, federal agencies tasked specifically with updating the public around the clock, are also trustworthy.

Now, here are top weather experts to follow for accurate information, presented in alphabetical order:

Dr. Levi Cowan, @TropicalTidbits

Expertise: Owner and developer of the hurricane forecasting site Tropical Tidbits

Tweet may have been deleted

Tomer Burg, @burgwx

Expertise: NWS Weather prediction center meteorologist

Tweet may have been deleted

Dylan Federico, @DylanFedericoWX

Expertise: FOX4 Dallas-Ft. Worth meteorologist

Tweet may have been deleted

Bill Karins, @BillKarins

Expertise: Certified broadcast meteorologist for NBC News

Tweet may have been deleted

Philip Klotzbach, @philklotzbach

Expertise: Senior research for the department of atmospheric science at Colorado State University

Tweet may have been deleted

Brian McNoldy, @BMcNoldy

Expertise: Senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science

Tweet may have been deleted

John Morales @JohnMoralesTV

Expertise: Hurricane specialist for NBC 6 South Florida

Tweet may have been deleted

Stephen M. Strader, @StephenMStrader

Expertise: Severe storms meteorologist

Tweet may have been deleted

Brian Tang, @btangyWx

Expertise: Associate professor of atmospheric science at University at Albany

Tweet may have been deleted

Eric Webb, @webberweather

Expertise: Government meteorologist

Tweet may have been deleted

Dr. Kim Woo, @DrKimWood

Expertise: Associate professor in the department of hydrology & atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona

Tweet may have been deleted

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick has photographed Hurricane Milton which is due to make landfall in Florida today. Currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Dominick captured scary views of the massive storm that is churning in the Gulf of Mexico from inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

“We flew over Hurricane Milton about 90 minutes ago. Here is the view out the Dragon Endeavour window,” Dominick captioned his post which featured another Dragon capsule visible through the station’s window. “Expect lots of images from this window as this is where I’m sleeping while we wait to undock and return to Earth,” he added.

He also posted a timelapse video as the station cruised over the hurricane.

Timelapse this image was taken from: https://t.co/6XOFOlBvHy
— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 8, 2024

Hurricane Milton, the National Hurricane Center (NHC), said is a category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of over 265 km per hour.

“Large area of destructive storm surge expected along portion of west-central coast of Florida Peninsula. If you are in a Storm Surge Warning area, please evacuate if told by local officials,” it said in a warning on X.

ALSO SEE: NASA Shares Frightening Video Of Hurricane Helene Shot From Space Station

4pm CDT Oct 8th Key Messages for #Hurricane #Milton which has become a Category 5 hurricane again:

Large area of destructive storm surge expected along portion of west-central coast of #Florida Peninsula. If you are in a Storm Surge Warning area, please evacuate if told by local… pic.twitter.com/JRNnFfKLu5
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 8, 2024

It also said that Milton can be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida. Thousands have already fled the hazardous regions as a precautionary measure.

There are actually three Hurricanes that have developed in the Atlantic basin.

The other two are Hurricane Leslie, which has grown stronger and could intensify in a day or two, and Hurricane Kirk west of Europe.

This is reportedly the first time in recorded history when three hurricanes are simultaneously active in the Atlantic basin which includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

ALSO SEE: NASA Astronaut On Space Station Captures Meteor Exploding Over Earth; Watch

(Image: X/@dominickmatthew)

NASA is planning to land astronauts on Mars by the mid-2030s. The agency reportedly wants to take astronauts to the red planet for exploration by 2035 under the Artemis Program. The Program builds on the legacy of the Apollo missions which saw 12 men walk on the Moon.

Missions under Artemis will serve as a test bed to prepare NASA for journeys to Mars. The program began with the uncrewed launch of Artemis 1 on November 16, 2021 and lasted 25 days.

NASA also wants to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time since 1972 during Artemis 3 which will launch no earlier than September 2026.

But the agency is already looking to humanity’s next stop – Mars. According to the plan chalked out by the agency, the astronauts flying to the red planet will travel 402 million kilometres over the course of six to seven months one way. Besides, the astronauts might spend up to 500 days on the Martian surface before they return.

Mars is believed to have formed about 4.6 billion years ago, making it as old as the solar system. Scientists say it was very Earth-like, as it had liquid water and a denser atmosphere roughly 3.8 billion years ago. But the modern-day Mars no longer resembles its past self as there are no traces of liquid water (although polar region have ice deposits) and the atmosphere is just 1 percent the volume of Earth. The atmosphere mostly comprises carbon dioxide, about 95 percent.

ALSO SEE: SpaceX’s Starship Will Launch With Astronauts To Mars In Four Years: Elon Musk

NASA has a Human Exploration of Mars Science Analysis Group which has been assigned the job to frame questions that the astronauts will attempt to find answers to. One of the major ones is finding signs of life, past or present on Mars.

Scientists are hopeful that they might just find something as water is considered an essential point of origin for life. They have found evidence that water once flowed on Mars and that there were vast oceans churning on the planet. The Perseverance rover, is exploring the Jezero crater, an ancient river delta.

Joel S. Levine, wrote in a report, that another key question that has been proposed by the analysis group is investigating the environmental changes that led Mars to lose its water and atmosphere.

The nearest crewed mission NASA is working toward is Artemis 2 targeted for launch in September 2025. Four astronauts – Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen – will make a trip around the Moon and return without landing on the Moon. The mission is intended only to test the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft with humans onboard.

ALSO SEE: Liquid Water Discovered On Mars? NASA Lander Unveils Explosive Evidence

(Image: NASA)