Evacuations Ordered As “Monstrous Hurricane” Michael Intensifies Into “Most Powerful Storm In A Decade”

by | Oct 9, 2018 | Headline News | 19 comments

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    This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge

    In a repeat of the scramble for safety that preceded the landfall of Hurricane Irma during the 2017 storm season, residents of the Florida panhandle are boarding up homes and fleeing inland as Hurricane Michael, already a Category 1 storm following a rapid intensification over the past 24 hours, barrels toward the northern Gulf of Mexico, where it’s projected to make landfall on Wednesday, possibly as a Category 3 storm.

    “The center of Michael is expected to move inland over the Florida Panhandle or Florida Big Bend area on Wednesday, and then move northeastward across the southeastern U.S. Wednesday night and Thursday,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 5 a.m. New York time.

    Michael

    The hurricane could generate a 12-foot surge, and 4-8 inches of rain in the region, with isolated areas getting as much as 12 inches. Michael is arriving less than a month after Florence hit North Carolina on Sept. 14, causing devastating floods, killing at least 39 and causing about $45 billion in estimated damages. Duke Energy Corp. warned customers in the region to prepare for potential outages.

    After initially forming over the coast of Honduras, Michael battered western Cuba and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula over the weekend, causing flash flooding that left 13 dead, per CNN. With a hurricane warning in place from the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida, and a hurricane watch in effect for the coast of Alabama, Florida’s governor Rick Scott called Michael “a monstrous hurricane“, and declared a state of emergency for 35 Florida counties from the panhandle to Tampa Bay.

    Michael

    Tropical storm watches have been issued for Chassahowitzka, Florida, to Anna Maria Island, Florida, including Tampa Bay, from the Mississippi-Alabama border westward to the mouth of the Pearl River, and along parts of the Southeast coast from Jacksonville to Charleston.

    Florida also ordered mandatory evacuations in coastal areas, with 1,250 National Guard soldiers aiding the process and more than 4,000 troops on standby. The state will also deploy 100 state troopers to the panhandle area.

    “This storm will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous,” Scott said at a news conference Sunday. “This storm has the potential to bring devastating impacts to communities across the Panhandle and Big Bend and every family must be prepared.”

    “Everybody’s got to get ready. Don’t take a chance,” he said. “We’re going to get storm surge, we have wind, we have a chance of flooding, we have a significant chance of tornadoes.”

    State offices, schools and universities were set to close on Tuesday and remain shuttered until the end of the week throughout the panhandle. Meanwhile, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statewide state of emergency “in anticipation of wide-spread power outages, wind damage and debris produced by high winds & heavy rain associated with #HurricaneMichael,” she said.

    After hammering the Gulf Coast, the storm is expected to make its way north along the east coast through hurricane battered North and South Carolina eventually traveling all the way to New England.

    Conditions could begin to deteriorate as early as Tuesday night as Michael approaches the shore, according to the Weather Channel:

    • Landfall is most likely to occur somewhere between the Florida Panhandle and the Big Bend of Florida a few hours either side of midday Wednesday.
    • Conditions may begin to deteriorate as early as Tuesday evening on the northeastern Gulf Coast.
    • After landfall, Michael will then accelerate inland across the southeastern U.S. Wednesday night through Thursday night with gusty winds and heavy rain.
    • Michael could enhance rainfall in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England Thursday night and Friday.

    The head of Alabama’s disaster management agency said he’s concerned about Michael’s “cone of uncertainty” which means Alabama could still bear the brunt of the storm.

    “I am concerned about the cone of uncertainty as Hurricane Michael is leaning west today,” Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Brian Hastings said in a statement Monday. “Residents and businesses in coastal Alabama must be vigilant and closely monitor the storm’s path and be prepared for a major hurricane.”

    In Gulf County Florida, the first to begin ordering evacuations for residents of low lying areas, mandatory evacuation notices encompassed an estimated 3,800 homes.

    Michael is expected to unleash coastal storm surges of up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) along Florida’s Panhandle while dumping as much as a foot or more of rain across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, according to the NHC.

    Storm

    As of 5 am ET, Michael’s center was about 420 miles south of Panama City, Florida and 390 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida. The storm was moving north-northwest at 12 mph, while Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 195 miles. The storm’s winds could drive “life threatening” flooding from the Florida panhandle and big bend region all the way through South Carolina and Georgia.

    Rain

    As it moves inward, the storm is expected to bring heavy rains as far away as New England later this week (courtesy of the WC):

    * * *

    – Rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches are forecast from the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend into southeastern Alabama and south Georgia, according to the NHC. Locally up to a foot of rain is possible. This may cause life-threatening flash flooding in some areas.

    – Eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia may pick up 3 to 6 inches of rain, potentially triggering flash flooding. This will include some areas devastated by flooding from Hurricane Florence. That said, this system is unlikely to stall like Florence did and will, therefore, not bring extreme rainfall amounts.

    – The Florida Peninsula, eastern mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast may see 1 to 3 inches of rain.

    * * *

    Thanks to the excessive rains and winds, Michael could become the most powerful storm to strike the Florida Panhandle in a decade. For those who have chosen to ignore the evacuation order, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan bluntly advised residents who choose to ride out the storm that first responders would not be able to reach them during or immediately after Michael smashes into the coast.

    “If you decide to stay in your home and a tree falls on your house or the storm surge catches you and you’re now calling for help, there’s no one that can respond to help you,” Morgan said.

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      19 Comments

      1. ??? what yet another “Most Powerful Storm In A Decade” ???

        • Oh no, not another one.

          • You probably wouldn’t have to worry IF you used screws instead of nails in the construction of your home. Who built your house? Some damn mexicans with nail guns? EVERYONE I know in my area that used nails to attach siding etc. has a warped out, wind damaged pile of shit. Only an asshole would use nails for siding, roofing, etc. I used screws and nails (for shear strength) and my house has withstood horrendious wind and storms. The siding is absolutely perfect as is the roof 11 years later. The interior sheathing has screws every 12 inches. If you build a piece of shit nailgun house it WILL be destroyed and you only have yourself to blame. Don’t be a moron, use screws and don’t be shy with them!

        • Here is the headline = TOTAL BS!!! As “Monstrous Hurricane” Michael Intensifies Into “Most Powerful Storm In A Decade”

          lol 110 MPH is a baby storm. I am in this area north of Tampa and its partly sunny and a few 10 Mph breezes. Its just a gorgeous beautiful fall day. The only real damage this baby Hurricane will do is Storm surges 4-6 Ft beach erosion on the Gulf coast shoreline, and sure people living on the Gulf coast beaches will need to evacuate. No Brainer.

          Like who writes this Fear Nonsense. Made ya look!!! Hurricane Andrew, Katrina and Sandy were powerful Hurricanes.

          • Maybe not Sandy. It was only a Cat 1 at landfall. Yankees are wusses when it comes to hurricanes and nor’easters.

            • Hey now, I’m a yankee (but wish the south had won) and I have been in some bad assed wind and I din’t crawl under the bed lol. You want some shit? Come up north to say uhhhh north Dakota or maybe wyoming in winter lol. You would pray it was a southern hurricane lol. Wind is everyday wicked there. We aint no wussies but we still love you southern boys. United we stand… Divided we fall, REMEMBER THAT!

      2. Is it me or does this seem like a repeating pattern?

        “Big storm! Leave the area! Mandatory Evacuations! Failure to do so could have dire consequences!” … and more.

        Lest we forget what happened AFTER Katrina –
        We (the public) were treated like scum of the earth. We asked for help, did not receive any (or it took way too long). We had our property searched AND confiscated without our permission (Weapons and whatever else the could steal that was worth value) and we were removed from said property with force if we did not comply with their orders.

        Is it me or does this seem like a repeating pattern?

      3. I was hoping the storm would veer a bit east but in St. Pete there is some sunshine today unlike yesterday. One spaghetti model had the storm turning eastwards up around Crystal River but that looks doubtful now. It has been a very hot summer.

      4. This is getting ridiculous. They hype all these storms so much. What is their end game? Just a realistic assessment with the likely path would be much more helpful. They can only cry “wolf” so many times before people start dismissing the warnings entirely.

      5. It looks like it will eventually come right up my road.

        I got my obligatory bread and milk this morning.

        The winds are supposed to be tropical storm force when it comes through here, so I’m pretty sure the electricity will go out. We have ice and coolers to keep the sandwich supplies safe. The freezers are packed tight and will be okay, as the electricity won’t be off that long. We are on a main line that gets repaired first.

        • Archivist, your region just got hit last month with a hurricane so now another one. Good luck and stay safe.

        • Arch,
          Good luck.
          Keep your head down.

      6. Here’s wishing that the name Michael does not get retired.

      7. They have no authority to make you leave.
        Stand your ground.
        The cops probably go house to house veiled in a security check to steal your stuff.

      8. It may be a bad storm, but why is every storm called the worst in a decade, or this century?Why is it every year we have a once in 500 year rain fall? Even if it turns out to be bad that’s besides the point, they are all forecast to be apocalyptic. Remembering seeing that guy on TV again leaning into the wind and holding on to a light pole for dear life while a couple kids in the background were seen leisurely walking around with their hands in their pockets. I have family in SC, they say there was a lot of rain; so there was flooding in some low areas, which can flood from just a hard rain, as it has been doing since the area was settled a few hundred years ago.

      9. It is raining and windy in Texas.

        _

        • So whats new?

      10. Thanks for finally talking about > Evacuations Ordered As "Monstrous Hurricane" Michael Intensifies Into "Most Powerful Storm In A
        Decade" < Liked it!

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