'Potentially catastrophic' Hurricane Michael strengthens to Category 2, targets Florida

Steve Kiggins and John Bacon USA TODAY

Published 8:51 AM EDT Oct 9, 2018

Hard-charging Hurricane Michael gained strength Tuesday on its relentless march toward Florida's Gulf Coast, gaining Category 2 status and poised to roar through the state with historic devastation.

The National Hurricane Center warned that the storm could make landfall Wednesday as a Category 3 storm with thundering rains and winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. Gov. Rick Scott saidd that the state could begin feeling the impact of the storm late Tuesday.

Scott declared a state of emergency for 35 counties and said he was seeking a federal disaster declaration from President Donald Trump, who promised full support for Florida's efforts.

"Michael is forecast to be the most destructive storm to hit the Florida Panhandle in decades," Scott said, adding that it was a "massive storm that could bring massive damage to the state."

Scott said evacuations already had been ordered in parts of 10 counties. More than 10,000 people were ordered out of Panama City Beach alone, effective at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

“We’ve practiced this many times. This is game time," said Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford. "This is the real thing, a significant threat to life and safety."

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The National Hurricane Center, citing Michael’s dangerous trifecta of storm surge, flash flooding and winds, described the seventh hurricane of the Atlantic season as “life-threatening,” and the Florida Division of Emergency Management warned on Twitter of the storm’s “rapid intensification” ahead of landfall. As of 8 a.m. EDT, Michael was moving north-northwest at 12 mph and positioned about 365 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm was moving north-northwestward through the southern Gulf of Mexico, and that storm surge and hurricane warnings were in effect for the northeastern Gulf coast.

“It’s a big storm,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Monday night during a press conference at the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center near Pensacola. “It’s a massive storm. We haven’t seen anything like this in the Panhandle in decades.”

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Michael “a potentially catastrophic storm” and added, “Preparations should be completed no later than Tuesday morning.”

The hurricane center is already warning of storm surge up to 12 feet in some areas, plus heavy rainfall through Florida’s Panhandle and into Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, and “tropical storm”-force winds.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River, with a hurricane watch in place from the Alabama-Florida border to the Mississippi-Alabama border.

On its current track, Michael will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico throughout Tuesday and then move inland over the Panhandle or Big Bend area of Florida on Wednesday, according to the hurricane center. From there, Michael would move northeastward across the southeastern states on Wednesday night and Thursday.

Scott has already declared a state of emergency in 35 counties, and the Florida National Guard has activated 1,250 troops for planning, logistics and emergency response.

President Donald Trump, speaking Monday to the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in Orlando, urged residents to heed local warnings and pledged the federal government's support.

“Never ends, but we’re all prepared and hopefully it won’t be as bad as it’s looking,” Trump said. “It looked a couple of days ago like it was not going to be much, and now it’s looking like it could be a very big one, so we’re prepared. And good luck.”

Contributing: Melissa Nelson Gabriel and Kevin Robinson, Pensacola News Journal, USA TODAY Network.

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