A Media Matters review of national TV news coverage of Hurricane Milton from October 7 through October 11 found:

• Corporate broadcast and cable news shows aired a combined 73 hours and 47 minutes across 1,275 segments about Hurricane Milton. 74 segments, or approximately 6%, mentioned climate change.

• Cable news networks — CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC — aired a combined 67 hours and 51 minutes across 1,128 segments about the storm.

• Corporate broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, and NBC — aired a combined 5 hours and 56 minutes across 147 segments about the storm.

Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida on October 9, 2024, exemplified the intensifying impact of global warming on tropical cyclones. The storm's rapid intensification to Category 5 strength was fueled by an unusually warm Gulf of Mexico, a direct consequence of climate change. Although Milton weakened to Category 3 by the time it made landfall, it still brought severe and wide-ranging impacts. The storm produced record-breaking rainfall, sparked at least 45 tornado reports across Florida, and triggered over 100 tornado warnings in a single day — a state record. 

Storm surge reached 8 to 10 feet in Sarasota County, and wind gusts exceeded 100 mph in parts of Tampa and Sarasota. The storm caused widespread flooding, downed trees and power lines, and even ripped the roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. As The Atlantic noted, it was the storm climate scientists have been warning about. 

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As The Atlantic noted, it was the storm climate scientists have been warning about.

Hurricane Milton caused at least 24 deaths across multiple counties and an estimated $30 billion to $60 billion in damage. These devastating effects, experienced so soon after Hurricane Helene, demonstrated the rapidly escalating risks coastal communities face as climate change continues to fuel more intense hurricanes.

Given the unprecedented nature and destructive power of Hurricane Milton, national TV news devoted extensive airtime to covering the storm. The volume of coverage was substantial, even by the standards set for major extreme weather events. Across cable and broadcast networks, the storm dominated programming for days, with more than 1,000 segments dedicated to tracking Milton's progress, impacts, and aftermath.

On cable:

• CNN aired 30 hours and 20 minutes across 537 segments, with 34 climate mentions.

• MSNBC aired 16 hours and 10 minutes across 267 segments, with 31 climate mentions.

• Fox News aired 21 hours and 20 minutes across 324 segments, with 2 climate mentions. Notably, these climate mentions included attempts to undermine the scientific consensus on climate change's role in extreme weather events.

On broadcast:

• ABC aired 1 hour and 40 minutes across 45 segments, with 2 climate mentions.

• CBS aired 2 hours and 10 minutes across 51 segments, with 2 climate mentions.

• NBC aired 2 hours and 6 minutes across 51 segments, with 3 climate mentions.

There was a notable improvement in how some networks connected Hurricane Milton to broader climate science, though the overall proportion of climate mentions remained low. Climate advocates have long emphasized the need for news media to draw these connections explicitly, and the coverage of Milton showed modest progress in this area.

Much of the climate coverage ahead of the storm was sparked by NBC 6 meteorologist John Morales' emotional, viral video about Hurricane Milton's unprecedented intensification. Similarly stunned by Milton's extraordinary characteristics, several prominent national meteorologists incorporated climate science into their weathercasts and reports throughout their coverage of the storm. ABC's chief meteorologist and chief climate correspondent Ginger Zee, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, and NBC meteorologist Angie Lassman, for example, connected climate change to Hurricane Milton and helped viewers understand the storm as part of a broader pattern of intensifying tropical cyclones. 

After the storm passed, some climate coverage shifted focus to Florida's increased vulnerability to storms and the state's struggling insurance market. These segments explored the long-term implications of climate change for coastal communities, highlighting the need for adaptive strategies and policy changes.

Coverage also examined the preparedness of federal agencies to respond to such intense storms. Multiple news segments examined FEMA's readiness for Hurricane Milton, highlighting staffing shortages and concerns about depleted resources following the recent impact of Hurricane Helene. This reporting raised important questions about the agency's capacity to manage back-to-back major hurricanes in an era of increasingly intense storms and rapidly spreading misinformation.

While coverage of Hurricane Milton showed some improvements in connecting the storm to climate change, it fell short in addressing the socioeconomic challenges of evacuation. National TV news again largely overlooked the plight of those unable to evacuate due to financial or logistical constraints, instead amplifying messages about personal choice without context. Although some coverage acknowledged the challenges of evacuating so soon after Hurricane Helene, it still predominantly framed evacuation as a personal decision, downplaying systemic barriers.

Although climate change mentions were relatively infrequent during the overall coverage of Hurricane Milton, several notable segments provided in-depth analysis of the storm's connection to global warming. These segments offered viewers important context about the changing nature of hurricanes in a rapidly warming world.

Broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC each offered segments connecting Milton to climate change, with meteorologist Jim Cantore explaining climate change's role in intensifying Hurricane Milton during the October 8 episode of CBS Mornings and a correspondent segment connecting climate change to increasing pressure on the insurance industry airing during the October 9 episode of NBC Nightly News. ABC's Ginger Zee dedicated an entire segment to Milton’s climate connection during the October 8 episode of Good Morning America, citing analysis by Climate Central that found hot water temperatures, which provide “incredible fuel” for storms like Milton, are now up to 800 times more likely due to climate change.

On cable, meteorologist John Morales appeared during the October 8 episode of CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront to discuss his emotional video about Hurricane Milton while Chris Hayes used the opening monologue of his October 8 episode of MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes to highlight the frustration of climate experts who have long warned about these extreme weather events and to emphasize the strain on federal resources from back-to-back major hurricanes.

During the October 9 episode of MSNBC's The ReidOut, climate scientist Michael Mann discussed the “new normal” of extreme weather events due to climate change, while author Jeff Goodell stressed during the October 9 episode of MSNBC's Alex Wagner Tonight that such storms are becoming the norm due to continued fossil fuel use.

National climate reporter Chase Cain discussed a new World Weather Attribution study about Hurricane Milton during the October 11 episode of MSNBC's Chris Jansing Reports, noting the study's findings that climate change made storms like Milton twice as likely. Cain connected these findings to challenges facing Florida residents, including increased flooding, recurring damage, insurance issues, and the need to make difficult decisions about rebuilding or relocating due to more frequent, intense storms.

The coverage of Hurricane Milton demonstrated a nuanced shift in climate change reporting. While the overall frequency of climate mentions remained low, the depth and quality of climate-focused segments improved noticeably. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for national TV news shows to enhance their extreme weather reporting.

To build on this progress, networks should aim to increase the frequency of climate mentions while maintaining the depth seen in Milton's coverage. This means consistently integrating substantive climate context into extreme weather reporting, not just during exceptional events.

Coverage should also highlight systemic vulnerabilities and barriers to adaptation, including how infrastructure, urban planning, socioeconomic disparities, and policy decisions contribute to the varying impacts of extreme weather events on different communities.

Lastly, networks should develop standardized climate communication protocols for meteorologists and news anchors. These could include guidelines for incorporating climate context into daily weather reports, using consistent terminology, and providing regular updates on long-term climate trends. By normalizing thoughtful climate discussions in weather coverage, networks can better equip viewers to make informed decisions about climate risks and empower them to advocate for meaningful climate action.

Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original episodes of ABC's Good Morning America and World News Tonight, CBS' Mornings and Evening News, and NBC's Today and Nightly News, as well as all original programming on CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC for any of the terms “Milton” (including misspellings), “thunderstorm,” or “hurricane” or any variations of any of the terms “tropic,” “Category 3,” “Category 4,” “Category 5,” or “storm” within close proximity of any of the terms “Florida,” “Gulf Coast,” “Tampa,” “Naples,” “Miami,” “Cedar Key,” “Gulf of Mexico,” “Yucatan,” or “peninsula” from October 7, 2024, when Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm, through October 11, 2024.

We included segments, which we defined as instances when Milton was the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of the storm. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed the hurricane with one another.

We did not include passing mentions, which we defined as instances when a single speaker in a segment on another topic mentioned the storm without another speaker engaging with the comment, or teasers, which we defined as instances when the host or anchor promoted a segment about the hurricane scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

We then reviewed the identified segments for any mention of climate change or global warming.