Gulf Coast Braces For Hurricane Michael
• With the memory of Hurricane Florence still far too fresh in the memories of residents in the Southeastern U.S., this is NOT the news we wanted to hear: Hurricane Michael has now intensified to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, packing winds of over 120mph, and is still strengthening — the National Weather Service says the storm could be close to a Cat 4 as it makes landfall along the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday.
Michael will bring with it life-threatening storm surge flooding, destructive winds and flooding rainfall. Michael will also spread heavy rain and strong winds to other parts of the southeastern United States after it moves inland.
Hurricane warnings and storm surge warnings have been issued along the Gulf coast of Florida, and topical storm warnings and watches are posted along the Southeast coast as far north as the Outer Banks.
On Monday afternoon, theNational Weather Service office in Tallahassee, FL issued this dire warning, that read, “Michael could develop into a potentially catastrophic event for the northeastern Gulf Coast. Michael could be the strongest hurricane to make landfall along that stretch of the Florida Panhandle Gulf coast in 13 years.
