Jabra, PLEASE check in with us when you can! ~ fingers/toes/eyes and various other body parts crossed that this monster storm isn't a direct hit on you ~ Sooz

Hurricane Michael Strengthens To A Category 2 As It Approaches Florida
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
By JENNIFER KAY and GARY FINEOUT
October 9, 2018 9:50 am

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Michael intensified into a Category 2 over warm Gulf of Mexico waters Tuesday amid fears it would strike Florida on Wednesday as an even stronger hurricane. Mandatory evacuations were issued as beach dwellers rushed to board up homes just ahead of what could be a devastating hit.

A hurricane hunter plane that bounced into the swirling eye off the western tip of Cuba found wind speeds rising. By 8 a.m. Tuesday, top winds had reached 100 mph (155 kph), and it was forecast to strengthen into a “major” hurricane, with winds topping 111 mph (179 kph).

The speed of the storm barreling toward the Florida Panhandle — Michael was moving north-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) — was among the hazards worrying forecasters at the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday morning.

Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said there were just hours left until Michael’s wind gusts and rain bands would start whipping the coast.

“Guess what? That’s today,” Graham said. “If they tell you to leave, you have to leave.”

Gov. Rick Scott warned people across northwest Florida at a news conference Tuesday morning that the “monstrous hurricane” was just hours away, bringing deadly risks from high winds, storm surge and heavy rains.

His opponent in Florida’s Senate race, Sen. Bill Nelson, said a “wall of water” could cause major destruction along the Panhandle. “Don’t think that you can ride this out if you’re in a low-lying area,” Nelson said on CNN.

Mandatory evacuation orders went into effect Tuesday morning for some 120,000 people in Panama City Beach and across other low-lying parts of the coast.

Forecasters said parts of Florida’s marshy, lightly populated Big Bend area could see up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) of storm surge.

Michael also could dump up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain over some Panhandle communities before it moves over Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia Wednesday night and Thursday. The storm could bring 3 to 6 inches of rain and flash floods as it barrels over a corner of the country still recovering from Hurricane Florence.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan bluntly advised residents choosing to ride it out that first-responders won’t be able to reach them while 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 at a news conference.

Michael wasn’t quite done wreaking havoc in the Caribbean on Tuesday. Forecasters warned of up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain in western Cuba, triggering flash floods and mudslides in mountain areas.

Disaster agencies in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua reported 13 deaths as roofs collapsed and residents were carried away by swollen rivers. Six people died in Honduras, four in Nicaragua and three in El Salvador. Authorities were also searching for a boy swept away by a river in Guatemala. Most of the rain was blamed on a low-pressure system off the Pacific coast, but Michael in the Caribbean could have also contributed.

In Florida, Scott declared a state of emergency for 35 counties, from the Panhandle to Tampa Bay, activated hundreds of Florida National Guard members and waived tolls to encourage evacuations. With just a month to go before Election Day, voters were also given one more day to register to vote, once offices reopen after the storm.

Scott also warned caregivers at north Florida hospitals and nursing homes to do all possible to assure the safety of the elderly and infirm. Following Hurricane Irma last year, 14 people died when a South Florida nursing home lost power and air conditioning.

“If you’re responsible for a patient, you’re responsible for the patient. Take care of them,” he said.

In the small Panhandle city of Apalachicola, Mayor Van Johnson Sr. said the 2,300 residents were frantically preparing for what could be a strike unlike any seen there in decades. Many filled sandbags and boarded up homes and lined up to buy gas and groceries before leaving town.

“We’re looking at a significant storm with significant impact, possibly greater than I’ve seen in my 59 years of life,” Johnson said of his city on the shore of Apalachicola Bay, which where about 90 percent of Florida’s oysters are harvested.

There will be no shelters open in Wakulla County, the sheriff’s office warned on Facebook, because they are rated safe only for hurricanes with top sustained winds below 111 mph (178 kph). With Michael’s winds projected to be even stronger, residents were urged to evacuate inland.

“This storm has the potential to be a historic storm, please take heed,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.

In Alabama, the entire state was under an emergency declaration. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey warned of power outages and other problems, and forecasters said spinoff tornadoes would be a threat.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Florida’s Democratic nominee for governor, filled sandbags with residents and urged the state capital’s residents to finish emergency preparations quickly.

“There’s nothing between us and this storm but warm water, and I think that’s what terrifies us about the potential impacts,” Gillum said.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/hurricane-michael-category-two-florida-panhandle

I called Jab ~ Jabra being Jabra, he's convinced the storm will hit north of him ~ and at least we know he is very familiar with Florida's freaky weather ~

Sooz

I would trust what he says, he seems knowledgeable about so many things - I am sure he would not put himself in harm's way stubbornly - like someone else I might mention

We are supposed to get more rain and winds from Michael, so can look forward to, sigh, more flooding and trees down, but it is supposed to pass quickly.

Stay Safe, Jab!

No need to worry. Scott's disaster announcement all the way down to Tampa is one of his last campaign attempts to show how much he "cares". Nelson doesn't have such an opportunity.
Yup, it's going to rain a little here, much more around Pensacola and Tallahassee. Up there they will have to worry.

We have relatives in the tri-state area who could get a bit wet as well.

When I was in the states the first time we rented a beachside apartment in Panama City for a few days. But we were on the 15th floor

I'm just wondering how those huge apartment blocks fare in a hurricane ……..

Granted, we don't get hurricanes here in Chicago ~ but don't forget I worked high up in Sears [now Willis] Tower for many years ~ there is a proscribed amount of "play" built into highrises ~ but you can definitely feel the "sway" on mega windy days ... especially if you're UNlucky enough to be in an elevator when a gust kicks up ~

Sooz

We had some sprinkles last night. It's a little different up North. I use https://fl511.com/map#camera and look up the cameras/weather at state road 231 in Panama City and I-10.
Looks like almost no traffic anymore.

Kinda radical for clearing up the gridlock, dontcha think?

Looks like all cameras are out and local TV stations are off line.

So, dear Republicans, in coastal states with Republican governors who supported Donald Trump, have you had enough yet? Still prefer lower taxes and less regulations? And insurance companies who support Republicans? Still worth deregulation and tax cuts over your payouts? Ok, we’ll wait.

My step son could be right in the middle of it.
Its reduced to a cat 1. But its still a hurricane.

Shouldn't Michael be called a himacane?

I hope we hear from KB today ~ I was only half listening but my local news said NC was, or would be, getting slammed with torrents of rain ~ ~ Sooz

Ben Geman 15 mins ago
Hurricane Michael's energy toll

Hurricane Michael made landfall in Mexico Beach, Fla., as a high-end Category 4 storm early Wednesday afternoon, killing at least two people and causing catastrophic damage.

The big picture: It's the strongest such storm on record to hit the Florida Panhandle and one of the strongest ever to strike the continental U.S. — and it severely impacted Florida's electricity grid and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

It struck with the third-lowest atmospheric pressure of any storm ever to hit the continental U.S. (919 millibars), and was among the five strongest storms by sustained winds at landfall (155 mph).

Electricity losses: As of 6am this morning, there were 359,306 accounts without power, according to Florida state officials.

Per CNN, add that to losses in Georgia and Alabama, and the total number of customers without power is over 500,000.

Oil-and-gas: Evacuations of Gulf of Mexico oil-and-gas platforms led to 42% of Gulf oil production and 32% of gas production being shut-in as of midday yesterday, according to the Interior Department.

However, the storm path was east of most offshore energy infrastructure and, as S&P Global Platts noted, that production should be restored pretty fast.

Go deeper:

How Hurricane Michael got so strong, so quickly.

Hurricane Michael was a storm for the ages.

https://www.axios.com/hurricane-michael-energy-florida-oil-electricity-18157798-55df-4ba6-96a5-0d4abf0bdae7.html

Woke up to the sun shining and thought what the heck, but supposed to start to rain about noon until 4pm. Weather predictions say wind gusts maybe possibly be up to the 50's, and rainfall should not amount to much when all is said and done. There are tornado warnings though and they scare me more than anything - least it is daytime and not in the middle of night alert and not have a have a chance to gather yourself together.

Hopefully the power will not go out and it moves as fast as they predict. I want to complain and say I am so tired of this sh*t, but then I think of the people who are in tents displaced and homes that have tarps on them, and I tell myself to shut the hell up!

Edited to add higher wind gusts. .

God is punishing America for electing Grabem.

FEMA response has been shitty. can anyone remember Katrina?

"Heck of a job, Brownie" Katrina? Sure.

What do you expect when Grabem is busy having a love fest with Kanye?