Weather Cloak-And-Dagger (And The Nhs) Is Calling Hurricane Michael Potentially Catastrophic

From Wunderground's Category vi (also on the blogroll on the right):

Potentially Catastrophic Hurricane Michael Nearing Landfall inward Florida Panhandle
October 10, 2018, 12:06 PM EDT

Hurricane-force air current gusts, torrential rains, too a massive tempest surge are belting Florida’s Panhandle every bit extremely unsafe Hurricane Michael closes inward on an afternoon landfall. At 11:30 am EDT, the hurricane hunters constitute that Michael was nevertheless intensifying, amongst sustained winds of 150 mph too a cardinal pressure level of 923 mb. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 tempest surge of over 7 feet was already affecting the Panhandle, inundating many escape routes. Michael is poised to live on i of the most top-ten most intense hurricanes on tape to brand landfall inward the USA

If yous are inward the hurricane’s impact zone, at in i lawsuit is the fourth dimension to hunker downward inward your prophylactic shelter too non live on out driving. Remember that winds are stronger the higher upwards yous go; if yous are sheltering inward a high-rise building, the lower floors volition live on safer than the upper floors. According to the National Hurricane Center’s classification of Category 4 air current damage, this is what tin live on expected where the eastern eyewall of Michael comes ashore:

Catastrophic harm volition occur: Well-built framed homes tin sustain severe harm amongst loss of most of the roof construction and/or some outside walls. Most trees volition live on snapped or uprooted too ability poles downed. Fallen trees too ability poles volition isolate residential areas. Power outages volition final weeks to perhaps months. Most of the expanse volition live on uninhabitable for weeks or months.

At 12:12 pm EDT, the tempest tide at Apalachicola was 6.03’ higher upwards high tide (Mean Higher High Water, or MHHW), which was the instant highest H2O marking on tape there. Only Hurricane Dennis of 2005 (a 6.43’ tempest tide) brought higher H2O levels. NHC is predicting a tempest surge every bit high every bit xiv feet for this component of the coast.

NOAA buoy 42039, located most xc miles (145 km) south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, reported sustained winds of lx mph (97 km/h) too a air current gust of 76 mph (122 km/h) at 5:50 am, earlier the buoy stopped transmitting data. The highest pregnant moving ridge heights were 30.8 feet at 4:50 am EDT.

Tyndall Air Force Base, which is inward set to have the strongest right-front eyewall winds of Michael at landfall, reported sustained winds of lxx mph, gusting to 84 mph, at noon EDT. This mensuration was taken at xxx meters, then is higher than the winds that would live on reported from the measure 10 meter measuring height.

Figure 2. Table of landfalling mainland USA Category 4 too v hurricanes since 1851. Image credit: Dr. Phil Klotzbach. To convert from knots to mph, multiply yesteryear 1.15. Rounded to the nearest v mph, 115 knots = 130 mph, 120 knots = 140 mph, etc.

Strongest USA landfalling hurricane on tape then belatedly inward the year?

Landfalling Category 4 hurricanes are rare inward the mainland U.S., amongst merely 24 such landfalls since 1851—an average of i every 7 years. (Category v landfalls are rarer still, amongst merely 3 on record). Only iv Category 4 hurricanes stimulate got made landfall inward Oct or later, too merely ii of these made landfall subsequently than Oct 10: Hurricane King (October 18, 1950 inward Florida), too Hurricane Hazel (October 15, 1954 close the NC/SC border). Both hitting amongst operate yesteryear winds of 130 mph. So, Michael has the potential to live on the strongest USA landfalling hurricane on tape then belatedly inward the year.
In records going dorsum to 1851, exclusively ix hurricanes stimulate got struck the Panhandle amongst Category 3 or stronger winds. The strongest were the 1882 Pensacola hurricane too 1975’s Hurricane Eloise, both of which came ashore amongst winds of 125 mph. Since 1900, at that topographic point has been exclusively i Category 4 or v landfall anywhere on the northern Gulf Coast (from Beaumont to Cedar Key): Category v Hurricane Camille inward 1969.

Michael’s cardinal pressure level of 923 mb at 11:30 am EDT Wed makes it probable that the hurricane volition hitting nation every bit i of the 10 strongest storms inward USA history. According to NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division, exclusively 3 landfalling mainland USA hurricanes stimulate got hitting at a lower pressure. All 3 were at Category v strength....MUCH MORE 

This volition live on our final post service on Michael until after landfall.