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| Hurricane Michael: Category 2 Storm Bears Down on Florida Panhandle | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Hurricane Michael raced toward the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday, threatening to bring the ferocious rains and winds of a powerful tropical cyclone to the coast and hundreds of miles inland. | Hurricane Michael raced toward the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday, threatening to bring the ferocious rains and winds of a powerful tropical cyclone to the coast and hundreds of miles inland. |
| The storm is expected to make landfall over the Panhandle on Wednesday as a major hurricane, with wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour. Some counties have issued evacuation orders, and shelters have been opened. | The storm is expected to make landfall over the Panhandle on Wednesday as a major hurricane, with wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour. Some counties have issued evacuation orders, and shelters have been opened. |
| Beyond destructive winds, the authorities said they feared torrential rains and perhaps 12 feet of storm surge. In an area that just two years earlier saw tremendous electrical disruptions from Hurricane Hermine, public officials and power companies face enormous pressure to keep the lights on, or restore service quickly. | Beyond destructive winds, the authorities said they feared torrential rains and perhaps 12 feet of storm surge. In an area that just two years earlier saw tremendous electrical disruptions from Hurricane Hermine, public officials and power companies face enormous pressure to keep the lights on, or restore service quickly. |
| Here are the latest developments: | Here are the latest developments: |
| • As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said the storm had strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour and was moving north-northwest at 12 m.p.h. in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Click on the map below to see the storm’s projected path. | |
| • A hurricane warning was in effect from the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida. A hurricane watch was in effect from the Alabama-Florida border to the Mississippi-Alabama border. | • A hurricane warning was in effect from the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida. A hurricane watch was in effect from the Alabama-Florida border to the Mississippi-Alabama border. |
| • Hurricane Michael could make landfall as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday anywhere from Destin, Fla., to Apalachee Bay, the National Hurricane Center said. It was projected then to veer northeast — through Georgia and the Carolinas — before heading into the Atlantic on Thursday night. | • Hurricane Michael could make landfall as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday anywhere from Destin, Fla., to Apalachee Bay, the National Hurricane Center said. It was projected then to veer northeast — through Georgia and the Carolinas — before heading into the Atlantic on Thursday night. |
| • Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, who is running for the Senate, left the campaign trail on Sunday to focus on storm preparations. He said that the hurricane “will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous,” and warned that some areas could receive up to a foot of rain. He has declared a state of emergency in 35 counties and asked President Trump for federal assistance. | • Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, who is running for the Senate, left the campaign trail on Sunday to focus on storm preparations. He said that the hurricane “will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous,” and warned that some areas could receive up to a foot of rain. He has declared a state of emergency in 35 counties and asked President Trump for federal assistance. |
| • Mr. Trump on Monday said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was in full preparation mode. “It looked a couple of days ago like it was not going to be much,” he said of the storm, “and now it’s looking like it could be a very big one, so we’re prepared, and good luck.” | • Mr. Trump on Monday said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was in full preparation mode. “It looked a couple of days ago like it was not going to be much,” he said of the storm, “and now it’s looking like it could be a very big one, so we’re prepared, and good luck.” |
| • Gas, generators and other emergency supplies were reported sold out in many places, The Tallahassee Democrat reported. | • Gas, generators and other emergency supplies were reported sold out in many places, The Tallahassee Democrat reported. |
| In many ways, climate change has made hurricanes worse: A rise in sea level is causing higher storm surges, and warmer air is leading to rainier storms. | In many ways, climate change has made hurricanes worse: A rise in sea level is causing higher storm surges, and warmer air is leading to rainier storms. |
| With Hurricane Michael, local geography also has a role to play in the storm’s impact. | With Hurricane Michael, local geography also has a role to play in the storm’s impact. |
| If the predictions of its path hold, the hurricane will be the first to hit this area since Hurricane Hermine in 2016, said Jamie Rhome, a storm surge specialist at the National Hurricane Center. That storm was a Category 1. Hurricane Michael is expected to strike land as a Category 3, a major storm with wind speeds of 111 to 129 m.p.h. That’s enough to uproot trees and tear off roof decking. | If the predictions of its path hold, the hurricane will be the first to hit this area since Hurricane Hermine in 2016, said Jamie Rhome, a storm surge specialist at the National Hurricane Center. That storm was a Category 1. Hurricane Michael is expected to strike land as a Category 3, a major storm with wind speeds of 111 to 129 m.p.h. That’s enough to uproot trees and tear off roof decking. |
| Wind, while a source of destruction in storms, is not the only threat. Surge can devastate coastal communities, and the rain dumped by storms can cause flooding far inland. Mr. Rhome noted that while this hurricane’s path was still not certain, its probable impact at the bend of Florida on the way into the Panhandle could be very destructive. “It’s an incredibly vulnerable spot,” he said. “Regardless of whether the track moves a little to the left or the right, or wobbles,” he said, “it’s going to be a bad storm surge event for somebody.” | Wind, while a source of destruction in storms, is not the only threat. Surge can devastate coastal communities, and the rain dumped by storms can cause flooding far inland. Mr. Rhome noted that while this hurricane’s path was still not certain, its probable impact at the bend of Florida on the way into the Panhandle could be very destructive. “It’s an incredibly vulnerable spot,” he said. “Regardless of whether the track moves a little to the left or the right, or wobbles,” he said, “it’s going to be a bad storm surge event for somebody.” |
| [Here’s our guide to how hurricanes are classified and why a change in category doesn’t tell the whole story.] | [Here’s our guide to how hurricanes are classified and why a change in category doesn’t tell the whole story.] |
| Rick Luettich, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina, said that the area was especially susceptible to a large storm surge because of its “funnel-shaped geometry and broad, shallow continental shelf.” | Rick Luettich, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina, said that the area was especially susceptible to a large storm surge because of its “funnel-shaped geometry and broad, shallow continental shelf.” |
| If there is good news, he said it’s that the area of possible impact “is not as densely populated as other parts of the Gulf Coast, and therefore the human consequences of such a large surge should be less severe than if it hit further west on the Florida Panhandle or further east,” in say, Tampa. | If there is good news, he said it’s that the area of possible impact “is not as densely populated as other parts of the Gulf Coast, and therefore the human consequences of such a large surge should be less severe than if it hit further west on the Florida Panhandle or further east,” in say, Tampa. |
| [Does it seem as if severe storms keep damaging the same areas, and those areas are simply built up again? Part of that is the way disaster funding works. Read about it here.] | [Does it seem as if severe storms keep damaging the same areas, and those areas are simply built up again? Part of that is the way disaster funding works. Read about it here.] |
| Election offices that are closed on Tuesday because of the hurricane will be able to accept paper voter registration applications on the day they reopen, whenever that might be, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said in a memo on Monday night. | |
| The close of voter registration had been scheduled for Tuesday, four weeks before Election Day in a state with some of the country’s marquee races, including contests for governor and a United States Senate seat. | |
| But Mr. Detzner, a Republican who faced Democratic pressure to extend the deadline, effectively waived the deadline, writing that his decision would “ensure that each Supervisor of Elections Office has the same amount of days to register voters at their offices.” | |
| The extension will not apply in all 35 counties for which Governor Scott declared a state of emergency. Election offices in some of those counties, like Alachua, which includes Gainesville, and Hillsborough, which includes Tampa, were expected to be open for business on Tuesday morning. | |
| The deadline for online voter registration — 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday — was unchanged. |