What To Know About Hurricane Michael, The 'Historic' Storm About To Slam The Florida Panhandle
Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle as a category 4 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. Here's satellite footage of the storm making landfall:
The director of the National Hurricane Center called the storm "truly historic and very dangerous" on Wednesday morning. Here's what to know:
The Latest Forecast Shows Michael Battering The Panhandle And Southern Georgia With Powerful Winds
The storm is set to be the worst to hit the Florida Panhandle "in a century," after it rapidly strengthened on its approach to the Gulf Coast. The Panhandle had never sustained a direct hit from a category 4 hurricane before:
Michael Is Now A Category 3 Hurricane With Winds Of 140 MPH
Michael has been downgraded to a category 3 storm after making landfall category 4. Its highest measured maximum sustained winds on Wednesday were 155 miles per hour; now its highest winds are a (still very scary) 125 miles per hour:
The Storm Surge Could Hit 13 Feet In Areas
If Michael's landfall coincides with high tide, the storm surge could reach up to 13 feet in places in parts of the Florida Panhandle, and 9 feet elsewhere on the coast:
This animation from the Weather Channel makes it clear how serious a danger a 9+ foot storm surge poses:
Footage from Mexico Beach, Florida shows an unfathomable storm surge nearly reaching the roofs of some houses.
Public Health Experts Are Worried About The Toxic Effects Of Red Tide
The hurricane coincides with a record bloom of red tide, a toxic type of algae, off the Florida Coast. Public health experts fear that the hurricane could bring the algae inland and turn it into an airborne threat.
"A storm surge or king tide could bring red tide up onto land," Larry Brand, a professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology at the University of Miami, said by email. "The toxin would get into the air and people would be breathing it."
Red tide is made up of Karenia brevis, an organism that can trigger attacks in people with asthma, according to Richard Pierce, program manager and senior scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota. Even people who don't have asthma can suffer from choking, coughing and stinging eyes. Some have reported lingering headaches and flu-like symptoms.
