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Hurricane Michael is barreling towards the Florida Panhandle and is gearing up to become the strongest hurricane to hit the area in recorded history. The storm is expected to make landfall near Panama City and Laguna Beach on Wednesday afternoon.
What do we know about the storm’s strength?
Hurricane Michael is a category 4 storm, which is the second-highest hurricane classification category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The center of the storm had maximum sustained winds of 145mph as of Wednesday morning, with a minimum central pressure of 954 MB.
Meteorologist Chad Myers says Michael could leave hundreds of thousands, and potentially millions, of people without power for “a very long time”.
The time for evacuating along the coast has come and gone. First responders will not be able to come out in the middle of the storm. If you chose to stay in an evacuation zone, you must SEEK REFUGE IMMEDIATELY.
On Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said that it is possible the hurricane will strengthen before making landfall.
“Hurricane Michael is a massive storm that could bring total devastation for parts of our state,” Governor Rick Scott warned early Tuesday.
He added that the coastal areas between Mexico Beach and Keaten Beach could see storm surge of 9 to 13 feet. Up to a foot of rain is epxected in areas of Florida’s Panhandle. “You cannot hide from storm surge, so get prepared and get out if an evacuation is ordered,” Mr. Scott said.
325 miles of coastline are expected to be devastated by the effects of Hurricane Michael, with winds and flooding forecasted for most of Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Hurricane Center issued storm warnings to the southeast Atlantic coast. A tropical storm watch was also issued from north of Charleston to Duck, North Carolina.
Click here for information on how to watch live cam footage of the storm’s landfall.