Hurricane Michael is expected to make landfall in the next hour between Panama City and Mexico Beach, Florida. Residents along the Gulf Coast are feeling the fury of the storm. New construction in Florida should be built to take the pounding of wind and rain, but much of the area affected has many homes and businesses that pre-date the new construction standards. And there is no standard that will hold up to the double-digit storm surge expected in some areas with buildings in the region parked right at water’s edge.
Storm surge in some areas is already reported at over 6’ above ground level. Residents in Panama City are also reporting downed trees and power lines, along with damage to beachfront properties, including some newer construction. Hurricane force winds have been recorded at multiple locations along a 70 mile stretch of the Gulf, with peak speeds on land in excess of 105 mph at 11:30 AM CDT. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has issued its first ever Extreme Wind Warning with wind gusts in the state capital (which is not on the coast) expected to exceed 130 mph.
Hurricane Michael is carrying sustained winds in excess of 150 mph, making it a very strong Category 4 storm. It is also staying very strongly ordered, showing little sign of falling apart or losing the sharpness of its eyewall as it approaches land.
The Weather Channel is calling Michael the most intense storm ever recorded in the northern Gulf. Though Hurricane Katrina reached peak speeds of 175 mph at sea, its maximum winds as it reach New Orleans were around 125 mph. Sustained wind speeds are not the best measure of the damage to be done by a hurricane, and Michael isn’t headed for a major city—but it’s going to be bad. This storm is barreling into the coast even as it looks to be still gaining strength. Hurricane force winds are likely to be sustained well inland.
At 12 PM CDT Michael is moving NNE at 14 mph and accelerating slightly as it crosses the last two dozen miles toward land. Pressure at the center of the storm is a very low 919 mb. Hold onto something and stay the hell away from the windows.