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| Hurricane Michael Live Updates: Category 4 Storm Starts Lashing Florida | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Hurricane Michael opened its bombardment of the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday morning, with wind and rain beginning to batter the coastline hours before the strengthening Category 4 storm was expected to make landfall with astonishing power. | |
| The authorities warned that it was too late to flee the storm, which the National Hurricane Center described as “potentially catastrophic.” | |
| “This is the worst storm that our Florida Panhandle has seen in a century,” Gov. Rick Scott of Florida said on Wednesday. “Hurricane Michael is upon us, and now is the time to seek refuge.” | |
| Here’s the latest: | Here’s the latest: |
| • The storm intensified to Category 4 overnight, with sustained wind speeds of up to 145 miles per hour. | |
| • The storm was about 90 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Fla., as of 8 a.m., moving toward the coast at 13 m.p.h., according to the National Hurricane Center. Click on the map below to see the storm’s projected path. | |
| • The eye of Michael is expected to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle Wednesday afternoon, tracking northeast across Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday before moving off the Mid-Atlantic coast on Friday. | |
| • Weather forecasters and government officials are particularly worried about the hurricane’s storm surge, which they said could reach 13 feet in some areas, in a relatively flat region that is particularly vulnerable to it. | |
| • Flash flooding is also a concern. The Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region, southeast Alabama and parts of Georgia could receive four to eight inches of rain, with some spots getting as much as a foot. | |
| • Governors in three states — Florida, Alabama and Georgia — have declared states of emergency, with mandatory evacuations in effect in coastal areas across the Florida Panhandle. | • Governors in three states — Florida, Alabama and Georgia — have declared states of emergency, with mandatory evacuations in effect in coastal areas across the Florida Panhandle. |
| • Follow New York Times journalists on the scene: Patricia Mazzei in Tallahassee, Richard Faussett in Panama City and Alan Blinder in Atlanta. | • Follow New York Times journalists on the scene: Patricia Mazzei in Tallahassee, Richard Faussett in Panama City and Alan Blinder in Atlanta. |
| In Panama City on Wednesday morning, the rain was already coming with that ominous hurricane rhythm, the outer bands of the storm bringing drizzle, followed by unhinged gushing, followed by drizzle again. | |
| In the pre-dawn darkness, a few cars crawled down wide boulevards lined with closed-up retail shops and gas stations. About six blocks from the water, Pastor Carlos Thomas was standing on the front porch of Neal’s Temple First Born Church of the Living God, flagging down a passer-by in a driving band of rain. | |
| He had driven the church’s big, shiny new tour bus from a tree-shrouded area to an open field across from the church where he thought it might be safer. | |
| Pastor Thomas, 48, has spent his whole life in Panama City, and he said he remembered Hurricane Eloise, which passed near here in 1975 and caused millions of dollars in damage. But he said that Panama City had mostly been safe in his lifetime. | |
| So he, like so many thousands on the Panhandle, had decided to ride it out. | |
| “I believe from what I’ve seen in the past, we’re going to be O.K.,” he said. “I’m thinking God’s going to take us through it.” | |
| Some of his flock had evacuated, he said, particularly the old and infirm. For those who remained, he said he would be praying for them, and meditating on Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.” Even here in this flat country. | |
| Governor Scott said on Wednesday that the storm surge from Hurricane Michael would be far-reaching, stretching along the Florida coast from Pensacola to Tampa. With 13-foot surges predicted in some places, he said residents should be prepared for seawater to rush inland, potentially for miles, because of the state’s flat lands near the coast. | |
| “We have never seen anything like this,” Mr. Scott told CNN. “People just don’t realize the impact of storm surge.” | |
| Besides rushing water, the governor said that the hurricane’s winds would wallop cities on the coast and even those far from the beach, including Tallahassee, the capital. | |
| Mr. Scott said he had activated 3,500 members of the National Guard and that 1,000 emergency responders were ready for search-and-rescue efforts. There were also 19,000 workers prepared to move in after the storm to try to restore power. | |
| Hurricane Michael comes as undecided voters — and polls suggest there are not many of them in Florida this year — are finalizing their choices less than four weeks before statewide elections. It presents opportunities and hazards for a host of candidates eager to display competence and gravitas as voters make up their minds and begin casting their ballots. | Hurricane Michael comes as undecided voters — and polls suggest there are not many of them in Florida this year — are finalizing their choices less than four weeks before statewide elections. It presents opportunities and hazards for a host of candidates eager to display competence and gravitas as voters make up their minds and begin casting their ballots. |
| Among the candidates are Governor Scott, who is running a fierce race for Senate against the Democratic incumbent, Bill Nelson, and Mayor Andrew Gillum of Tallahassee, the Democratic nominee for governor. | Among the candidates are Governor Scott, who is running a fierce race for Senate against the Democratic incumbent, Bill Nelson, and Mayor Andrew Gillum of Tallahassee, the Democratic nominee for governor. |
| How they tackle the preparations and response to the storm could cement their standing as front-runners — or upend months of painstaking campaign work, rendered useless by the late-arriving taint of a botched disaster. | How they tackle the preparations and response to the storm could cement their standing as front-runners — or upend months of painstaking campaign work, rendered useless by the late-arriving taint of a botched disaster. |
| “It’s a chance to show leadership, but it’s also a chance to fail at leadership,” said former Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina, who faced a hurricane about a month before the election he lost in 2016. “People are observing the littlest of things — how you dress, how you pronounce things, your passion, your empathy — and you’re being evaluated moment by moment.” | “It’s a chance to show leadership, but it’s also a chance to fail at leadership,” said former Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina, who faced a hurricane about a month before the election he lost in 2016. “People are observing the littlest of things — how you dress, how you pronounce things, your passion, your empathy — and you’re being evaluated moment by moment.” |
| [Read more about the politics of major storms here.] | [Read more about the politics of major storms here.] |
| After deeply destructive hurricanes, like Florence last month and Harvey in 2017, both of which dawdled over land and dumped disastrous amounts of rain, Michael was moving at a speed that was “almost exactly average for storms,” said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. | After deeply destructive hurricanes, like Florence last month and Harvey in 2017, both of which dawdled over land and dumped disastrous amounts of rain, Michael was moving at a speed that was “almost exactly average for storms,” said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. |
| The storm formed in the Western Caribbean and moved steadily northward, which is typical for this time of year, and will strike in October, well before the Nov. 30 close of the Atlantic hurricane season. And the storm has moved along a path well predicted by computer models, which have suggested a Panhandle landfall for days. | The storm formed in the Western Caribbean and moved steadily northward, which is typical for this time of year, and will strike in October, well before the Nov. 30 close of the Atlantic hurricane season. And the storm has moved along a path well predicted by computer models, which have suggested a Panhandle landfall for days. |
| “It’s a very well-behaved storm,” Mr. McNoldy said. | “It’s a very well-behaved storm,” Mr. McNoldy said. |
| Predicting its consequences is harder to do. After striking Florida on Wednesday, Michael is expected to race over Georgia and the Carolinas — including communities still recovering from Hurricane Florence — as a tropical storm before moving offshore on Friday. | Predicting its consequences is harder to do. After striking Florida on Wednesday, Michael is expected to race over Georgia and the Carolinas — including communities still recovering from Hurricane Florence — as a tropical storm before moving offshore on Friday. |
| “Because of the damage caused by Hurricane Florence and the fact that there’s still some standing water in places, we have to be that much more alert about the damage that Hurricane Michael could do,” Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina said on Tuesday. “We know we have to be ready, and hurricane-weary North Carolinians cannot let their guard down just because we’re fatigued with Hurricane Florence.” | “Because of the damage caused by Hurricane Florence and the fact that there’s still some standing water in places, we have to be that much more alert about the damage that Hurricane Michael could do,” Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina said on Tuesday. “We know we have to be ready, and hurricane-weary North Carolinians cannot let their guard down just because we’re fatigued with Hurricane Florence.” |
| In Florida, residents rushed toward shelters, some arriving hours before they opened so they could snag a coveted spot. | In Florida, residents rushed toward shelters, some arriving hours before they opened so they could snag a coveted spot. |
| Mary Thompson, 69, was among those seeking a corner spot at a shelter in Tallahassee, two years after Hurricane Hermine swept through the capital and left her terrified. This time, with her street lined with trees, she fled to a shelter where volunteers passed out bottled water and trail mix. | Mary Thompson, 69, was among those seeking a corner spot at a shelter in Tallahassee, two years after Hurricane Hermine swept through the capital and left her terrified. This time, with her street lined with trees, she fled to a shelter where volunteers passed out bottled water and trail mix. |
| To the west in Fountain, the Piggly Wiggly Express market was a showcase of the other options before a hurricane: hustling out of town, or stocking up to sit it out at home. | To the west in Fountain, the Piggly Wiggly Express market was a showcase of the other options before a hurricane: hustling out of town, or stocking up to sit it out at home. |
| Under cloudy skies, the air thick and hot, a pool of people waited in line at the automated ice machine. A few feet away, the gas pumps were busy with Floridians topping off as they fled from the coast and north toward Dothan — and what they hoped would be safety. | |
| Inside, the cashiers moved mountains: Bud Light, infant formula, potato chips, cupcakes. Zihesa Long and Tayrael Perryman were there, happy to find what they had come for — three extra-long loaves of Sunbeam bread. | Inside, the cashiers moved mountains: Bud Light, infant formula, potato chips, cupcakes. Zihesa Long and Tayrael Perryman were there, happy to find what they had come for — three extra-long loaves of Sunbeam bread. |
| Mr. Perryman, 42, of Panama City, said they had been unable to find any bread on the shelves in their neighborhood. So they drove up Highway 231, checking stores until they found it at the Piggly Wiggly. | Mr. Perryman, 42, of Panama City, said they had been unable to find any bread on the shelves in their neighborhood. So they drove up Highway 231, checking stores until they found it at the Piggly Wiggly. |
| With bread in hand, Mr. Perryman and Ms. Long, 32, were headed back to their home in Panama City, about a 30-minute drive south. They lived near a bayou, he said, which they feared would overflow with the storm surge. But they were still on the fence about leaving. The plan was to keep waiting and watching the news. If by Wednesday morning Michael still looked like it was going to slam straight into Panama City, then maybe they, too, would head to Dothan to bunk with relatives. | With bread in hand, Mr. Perryman and Ms. Long, 32, were headed back to their home in Panama City, about a 30-minute drive south. They lived near a bayou, he said, which they feared would overflow with the storm surge. But they were still on the fence about leaving. The plan was to keep waiting and watching the news. If by Wednesday morning Michael still looked like it was going to slam straight into Panama City, then maybe they, too, would head to Dothan to bunk with relatives. |
| [Read more here about how Floridians were preparing for the storm.] | [Read more here about how Floridians were preparing for the storm.] |