As climate change continues to harm our planet, some Florida residents are in the dangerous path of Hurricane Michael, which could become the most extremely destructive storm to hit the Panhandle area in many years.
The National Hurricane Center upgraded Michael to an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Michael could slam the region this afternoon and is about 180 miles of Panama City, Florida, and about 170 miles of Apalachicola, Florida.
A state of emergency has been declared for a total of 35 counties, and more than 100,000 people were ordered out of a long swath of low-lying communities. Michael would be just the fourth major hurricane – Category 3, 4 or 5 to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle since 1950.
Major Hurricane Michael is forecast to make landfall in the FL Panhandle today. This life-threatening storm is expected along the Panhandle, Big Bend, and Nature Coast. Very dangerous winds are also expected along the coast, and hurricane-force winds will be felt far inland, including parts of GA and AL. Heavy rainfall is likely to cause inland flash flooding. Tornadoes are also possible.
