Punishing Hurricane Michael begins slamming Florida Panhandle

Hurricane Michael crashed into the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday with 155 miles per hour (249 kph) winds and the potential for a devastating storm surge from what was expected to be the worst storm ever recorded in the region.

Michael, which had caught many by surprise with its rapid intensification as it churned north over the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall northwest of the town of Mexico Beach at about 1:40 p.m. EDT (1740 GMT) as a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

The storm could drive sea water levels as high as 14 feet (4.3 meters) above normal in some areas, the National Hurricane Center said.


Even before Michael made full landfall, it was whipping trees with its winds and had caused flooding in the town of Apalachicola, where more than five feet (1.5 meters) of water was reported, and in Port St. Joe.

"It feels like you don't know when the next tree is going to fall on top of you because its blowing so ferociously," said Port St. Joe Mayor Bo Patterson. "You just don't know when the next one is going down. It's very, very scary. We have trees being uprooted, heavy, heavy rain."