The headline on The Weather Channel website is straightforward: “Get out now: 120K must flee.”
Hurricane Michael is bearing down on the Florida Panhandle and is forecast to be a “monstrous” Category 3 storm when it makes landfall around 1 p.m. Wednesday near Panama City.
As of late Tuesday morning, Michael was centered about 395 miles south of Panama City and moving north-northwest.Action News Jax said at noon Tuesday that the storm was strengthening and moving at 12 miles per hour.
The Coast Guard has set Port Condition Yankee for Gulf Intracoastal Waterway as well as the ports of Gulfport, Mobile, Pascagoula, Panama City and Pensacola.
Yankee status means no vessels may enter, transit or remain within the safety zone without the permission of the captain of the port. In addition, no transfer of cargo can take place when wind speeds reach 40 mph.
“Michael is a massive storm that could bring total devastation to parts of our state,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Monday afternoon. “Let me be clear. Hurricane Michael is a monstrous storm and the forecast keeps getting more dangerous.”
The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia all have declared states of emergencies as Michael barrels toward the Gulf Coast.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 92 counties Tuesday. Florida’s emergency declaration impacts 35 counties.
Alabama’s statewide emergency went into effect at 3 p.m. Monday. “I’ve issued a state of emergency in anticipation of widespread power outages, wind damage and debris produced by high winds and heavy rain associated with Hurricane Michael,” Gov. Kay Ivey tweeted.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday along Florida’s Panhandle. In total, the mandatory evacuations impact about 120,000 people.
CBS News said a hurricane hunter plane that flew into the eye of the storm off the western tip of Cuba found wind speeds rising. By 8 a.m. Tuesday, top winds had reached 100 mph, and it was forecast to strengthen more, with winds topping 111 mph.
Gov. Scott told “Good Morning America” Tuesday, “We haven’t seen anything like this in the Panhandle in decades.”
He said at a news conference later Tuesday morning that the storm surge could reach 12 feet. “You cannot hide from storm surge.”
Panhandle residents also should prepare for major flooding, Scott said, with 4 to 8 inches of rain expected and even 12 inches possible in some areas.
The storm is forecast to move farther inland later in the week, potentially bringing rain and heavy wind to portions of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.