Hurricane Michael

Hurricane Michael
Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
	Hurricane Michael nearing landfall on the Florida Panhandle near peak intensity on October 10
Formed	October 7, 2018
Dissipated	October 16, 2018
	(Extratropical after October 11)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h) ;
Lowest pressure	919 mbar (hPa); 27.14 inHg
Fatalities	31 direct, 43 indirect
Damage	$25.1 billion (2018 USD)
Areas affected	Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Southeastern United States (especially the Florida Panhandle and Georgia), Eastern United States, Eastern Canada, Iberian Peninsula
	Part of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Michael was an Atlantic tropical cyclone. The storm threatened Cuba, northwestern Florida, Georgia and southern Alabama. It was the 13^th named storm, seventh hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first Category 5 hurricane and the strongest on record to impact the Florida Panhandle, and was the fourth-strongest landfalling hurricane in the United States in terms of wind speed. As Michael became a Category 5 hurricane, the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season became a third consecutive season to feature at least one Category 5 hurricane since Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017; this also makes Michael the third straight "M" name to feature as a Category 5 hurricane since Matthew in 2016 and Maria in 2017 as well.

Hurricane Michael on October 9, 2018 as a Category 3 hurricane

The storm passed near western Cuba on October 7-8.^[1]

The storm led to six deaths in Honduras, four in Nicaragua and three in El Salvador.

Michael became a major hurricane on Tuesday, October 9, 2018.^[2]

The storm struck near Mexico Beach, Florida in the Florida Panhandle as a borderline Category 5 hurricane, which makes it the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in the United States as a Category 5 hurricane since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. It had a wind speed of 160 mph and a central pressure of 919 millibars.^[3] It was originally designated as a high-end Category 4 hurricane with wind speed of 155 mph, but from post-analysis, it was indeed a Category 5 hurricane as originally thought. It was said to be the strongest hurricane to hit Florida since Andrew in 1992 in terms of pressure which it had a central pressure of 922 millibars.^[4] It was also the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in terms of pressure since Hurricane Camille in 1969, which had a pressure of 900 millibars.

Retirement

On March 20, 2019, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Michael due to extreme and very expensive damage it caused along its track, particularly in the Florida Panhandle and southwest Georgia, and it will never again be used for another Atlantic hurricane. It will be replaced with Milton for the 2024 season.

Hurricane Michael Media

Hurricane Michael making landfall in the Florida Panhandle at peak intensity on October 10.
Michael as a hurricane-force extratropical cyclone on October 13
Members of the Florida National Guard convening near Starke, Florida, on October 9
Electrical outages in affected states
Radar animation of Michael moving onshore on October 10 as viewed from the NEXRAD radar site at Eglin Air Force Base
Most homes on the beachfront in Mexico Beach, Florida, were obliterated by Michael's catastrophic storm surge, with some even being swept off their foundations.
Widespread wind damage occurred throughout the Panama City area.
Erosion along the Sun Coast
Downed trees and power lines on SR 253 in Seminole County, Georgia