Hurricane Michael, on the brink of Category 3, churns toward Florida Panhandle

MIAMI — Florida's Panhandle could begin feeling tropical storm conditions as early as Tuesday night as a strengthening Hurricane Michael churns across the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, headed for a Wednesday landfall along the northeastern Gulf Coast.

In an 11 a.m. update on Tuesday, National Hurricane Center forecasters said Michael's maximum winds have reached 110 mph, the top of the Category 2 scale. It was expected to pick up more power as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico and slam the famed white sand beaches of the Panhandle as a major Category 3 hurricane, pushing potentially deadly storm surge into the coast. The storm was located about 360 miles south of Panama City, the center of the potential landfall zone, moving north 12 mph.

Earlier in the morning, tropical storms warnings spread to the U.S. east coast, from Fernandina Beach, just north of Jacksonville, to South Carolina, as forecasters warned of expanding threats as the storm moves inland.

After it makes landfall, the storm is expected to head across Georgia and the Carolinas, which are still recovering from widespread flooding from a slow-moving Hurricane Florence last month. Heavy rain could trigger the same kind of dangerous flash flooding in the Big Bend, Panhandle, Georgia and South Carolina, forecasters said.



Forecasters and emergency managers continued to warn that Michael's storm surge remains the most serious danger, since the bend in the coastline traps powerful waves. Between eight and 12 feet of surge could pound the coast between Indian Pass and the tiny island of Cedar Key, where a no-name hurricane in 1986 pushed ashore a fatal 10-foot storm surge that killed 100. The amount and location of surge remains somewhat uncertain depending on the storm's exact path, they warned. At its current pace, Michael could approach the coast on a rising tide, which could compound problems.

In a morning briefing, Gov. Rick Scott continued to urge residents in the storm's path to heed warnings about the looming surge.

"The state has experienced winds before like this and rain like this. The storm surge could be historic," he said.

A hurricane hunter plane investigating the storm Tuesday morning found that Michael's eye had become less organized. But forecasters expect the wind shear buffering the storm to decrease today, allowing it to continue to mushroom in wind speed. Michael's eye is expected to move across the Gulf tonight. Hurricane force winds extend about 80 miles around the storm with tropical storm force winds spreading across nearly 400 miles.



Hurricane warnings blanketed much of northeastern Florida, from the Suwanee River to the Alabama border. Storm surge warnings stretched from just north of Tampa to Walton County, west of Panama City.

In advance of the storm on Monday, emergency managers ordered mandatory evacuations along the coast expected to see the fiercest winds and highest surge, including Wakulla, Franklin, Gulf and Bay counties. Voluntary evacuations were ordered for Santa Rosa, Hernando, Leon and Liberty counties.

Scott expanded a state of emergency to 35 counties, ordered 2,000 National Guard members to duty and lifted tolls. Health officials were checking on facilities that care for the elderly, which were ordered to install generators and file evacuation plans after a dozen patients died in stifling heat in a Hollywood facility that lost power following Hurricane Irma.

"My expectation is if you are a health care facility you have a responsibility to take care of those patients," Scott told reporters at the briefing. "My expectation is people comply."

Ambulance strike teams will also be on standby, along with wildlife officers with high-water rescue vehicles and about 400 additional Florida Highway Patrol officers assigned to 12-hour shifts to assist with deteriorating road conditions, including bridge closings.

Scott also said state officials were in contact with local shelter officials to avoid problems caused during Irma when a shortage of workers left many unstaffed. After more than 650,000 residents were ordered out of their homes before Irma, Miami-Dade raced to find staff, leaving some people stranded.

"We're going through county by county to make sure we have all the shelters we need," he said.

Scott also ordered state offices closed Tuesday in counties under evacuation orders, the same day voter registration closes. Secretary of State Ken Detzner said those counties affected will be given an extra day when they reopen to resume registration.

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