Hurricane Michael, nearing landfall, could be Florida Panhandle's 'worst storm ... in a century'
(CNN)A terrifyingly powerful Category 4 Hurricane Michael was poised to become the strongest hurricane to hit the Florida Panhandle in recorded history Wednesday, its rapid strengthening catching some by surprise and leaving anxious officials telling those who didn't evacuate: It's time to hunker down.
"This is the worst storm that our Florida Panhandle has seen in a century," Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday morning.
"Hurricane Michael is upon us, and now is the time to seek refuge."
The extremely dangerous Michael is expected to make landfall in the Panhandle, perhaps near Panama City and Laguna Beach, in the afternoon, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.
The storm's center had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph Wednesday morning, and if the eyewall hits the coast with winds of that speed, it would deliver damage like a strong tornado. "But instead of lasting 30 seconds, it lasts for one hour," Myers said.
"There will be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, without power for a very long time," Myers said.
A report I saw a little while ago on CNN, said the hurricane is continuing to intensify...
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 2:29 pm
by BoSoxGal
Yeah it does . . .
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 2:50 pm
by Gob
Are any of our members or their families in the line of fire?
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:00 pm
by BoSoxGal
I don’t think any of our members are Florida panhandle.
There’s at least one Republican nutjob saying that this hurricane is a Democratic revenge plot for Brett Kavanaugh.
Watching on the news and I have to say while on the one hand I think it’s absurd for news crews to sit on the beach as a Cat 4 - almost 5! - hurricane approaches, it’s pretty amazing to see what the ocean looks like just ahead of landfall. I predict really devastating damage from this storm and I really hope people evacuated, especially as it didn’t seem that there was anything like the lead-up and media coverage of Michael’s approach as there was for Florence.
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:42 pm
by Lord Jim
it didn’t seem that there was anything like the lead-up and media coverage of Michael’s approach as there was for Florence.
The Gulf storms don't typically form as far out in the Atlantic, so they have less lead time before hitting the US mainland...
They also have a tendency to intensify right before hitting landfall much more quickly than storms that hit the Eastern Seaboard. I saw a report that said that a lot of folks decided to ride it out expecting a Cat 2, and by the time they found out would most like land as a Cat 4 it was too late to evacuate...
Katrina was another Gulf hurricane that ramped up from a Cat 2 to a Cat 4 in a matter of hours before making landfall...
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:17 pm
by BoSoxGal
That makes all kinds of sense - they’re saying the same on the news right now. I’m really worried about death toll with this storm, not to mention property damage.
I suspect as the ocean continues to rise and warm, these coastal areas in the south are going to become uninhabitable except as vacation areas - it’s just going to be too costly to rebuild over and over, and insurance companies will put the foot down.
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:24 pm
by Big RR
I have to say while on the one hand I think it’s absurd for news crews to sit on the beach as a Cat 4 - almost 5! - hurricane approaches
but they're trained professionals; they keep telling us that we mere mortals should not venture out into the storm while they, with their superior powers, have free reign to drive or walk wherever they wish. I'm honestly surprised more are not hurt or worse.
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:10 pm
by MGMcAnick
Big RR wrote:
I have to say while on the one hand I think it’s absurd for news crews to sit on the beach as a Cat 4 - almost 5! - hurricane approaches
but they're trained professionals; they keep telling us that we mere mortals should not venture out into the storm while they, with their superior powers, have free reign to drive or walk wherever they wish. I'm honestly surprised more are not hurt or worse.
ABC News just finished up an hour long "special" with the wind whipping on the other side of a glass door the reporter was standing near. She said it was hurricane proof, but it kept bowing in the wind. It was scary to watch.
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:20 pm
by Joe Guy
When I watch the reporters, I'm always hoping for something like this....
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:22 pm
by dales
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:03 pm
by Lord Jim
Just watched Brooke Baldwin on CNN doing a helicopter flyover of Mexico Beach Florida, the town that was apparently ground zero for Michael's landfall...
The place looks like it's been carpet bombed...
Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:35 pm
by RayThom
Wasn't it TBird251 who lives in the Fort Walton area? He stopped posting quite some time ago so I'm not sure of his fate.
Is there anyone in this forum who has had more recent contact with him?
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:54 pm
by Lord Jim
I just talked to my sister and a friend of hers lives in the area...
They lost their roof but had evacuated...
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:41 pm
by rubato
There’s at least one Republican nutjob saying that this hurricane is a Democratic revenge plot for Brett Kavanaugh.
Soros hired the hurricane!
(when did the brain-dead hate Soros thing get started?. He is selfless and cuddly as Jimmy Carter and he spends his own money on charitable causes.)
yrs,
rubato
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:45 pm
by rubato
entire neighborhoods erased. Staggering.
I hope the relevant counties have building inspectors out seeing which roofing and building systems survived and which not so they can improve building codes for all the areas which will be ravaged by hurricanes as the GOP denies global warming.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:09 am
by BoSoxGal
This story fell out of the news in the wake of the Melanoma & Kanye publicity fest that grabbed the spotlight Friday; these images of Michael damage demand to be seen, however. The wreckage is unreal and there are hundreds of people missing - I fear the death toll is going to grow substantially as cleanup efforts begin.
These poor people; I’d rather lose everything to a wildfire than to come home to a waterlogged smelly ruined mess with just enough traces of my life left to make every step of cleanup emotionally devastating.
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:53 pm
by wesw
nah after a wilfire you don t have anything.
I would rather have all that building material and firewood laying around than have only ashes
free wood is better than nothing
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:50 pm
by rubato
But in the real world you have to pay someone to haul away debris so it is a negative.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:56 am
by Lord Jim
Oh my, how did I miss this?
rubato wrote:
...when did the brain-dead hate Soros thing get started?. He is as selfless and cuddly as Jimmy Carter...
yrs,
rubato
LOL
Good one rube...
Yeah, I'll have to give you that one...
George Soros is every bit as selfless and cuddly as Jimmy Carter...I really can't argue with you there...
Re: Michael Looks Like A Real Bastard...
Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:56 pm
by rubato
No one has shown anything Soros has done which is evenly slightly wrong. No one.
the "hate Soros" chorus is based on nothing. He supports the development of democratic institutions and education.
