Crashing into the Florida Panhandle coast at the speed of 155 mph and with a central pressure of around 920 millibars, Hurricane Michael is considered to be one of the strongest hurricanes ever to have struck the United States. The Florida Panhandle, which hardly had any prior record of a storm of such an intensity, was completely ravaged by the hurricane. Hurricane Michael picked up the intensity at a breathtaking pace and was just 1 mph short of attaining the status of a Category 5 storm when it hit Mexico Beach. Michael’s devastation has supposedly been massive, and its extent is still being assessed.
The hurricane’s sustained winds of an estimated speed of 155 mph during its landfall makes it the fourth-strongest, just behind Labor Day, Camille, and Andrew. Based on the wind speed, Michael is the third strongest storm to strike Florida, and based on pressure, it remains as the second strongest ever. If the minimum sea-level pressure is considered as a metric for intensity, the hurricane’s landfall pressure of an approximate 920 millibars makes it the third lowest in the U.S., falling behind only the 1932 hurricane, Labor Day (which was recorded at 862 millibars) and the 1969 hurricane, Camille (which was recorded at 900 millibars). As an October hurricane, Michael’s pressure is calculated to be the lowest to crash into the coastal regions of the United States.
Since the winds of a hurricane are directly related to the alterations in pressure over a comparatively small distance, the pressure is often taken into account to calculate the storm intensity. As compared to smaller storms, the larger storms need to have lower levels of pressure in them to acquire an identical wind speed. As a result, storms which have lower pressures can be more damaging. Based on this aspect, Michael was way stronger than other recorded hurricanes to have crashed the Florida Panhandle.
Prior to Michael, the strongest hurricanes to have made a landfall on the Panhandle were the Pensacola Hurricane and Eloise, of 1882 and 1975 respectively. At the time of their landfall, both had a wind speed of 125 mph and attained the status of Category 3. Michael surpassed that record by a staggering 130 mph, thus becoming the first Category 4 hurricane to have struck the Panhandle. By the time Michael had tracked into Georgia, it was classified as a Category 3 hurricane. Georgia had last been devastated by a major hurricane way back in 1898 when the Georgia Hurricane hit it as Category 4.
It’s true that Michael has reminded all that one single hurricane is enough to disrupt every human life. The hurricane has left behind inconceivable and unspeakable destruction. Majority of the lives of the residents have been changed forever. Florida’s north-western coast has probably been hit the worst. Houses have been ripped from their foundations, power lines are scattered all over the place, and trees have been uprooted. Though Michael weakened on its course towards the north-eastern direction, 11 people have been declared dead in Florida and nearby places. As per sources, over 350,000 people were asked to evacuate before the hurricane hit the coasts, but unfortunately, the warning was ignored. As per the U.S. Coast Guard, they have executed 10 missions overnight and rescued nearly 30 people.
By early Friday morning, Hurricane Michael was around 65 miles to the north-east of Norfolk, with 60 mph as its wind speed, as revealed by the US National Hurricane Center. Just a month back, the southern and mid-Atlantic regions and North Carolina had been ravaged by Hurricane Florence, and now Florida is reeling under the devastating act of Hurricane Michael. Nearly 101 million homes and businesses from Florida to Virginia didn’t have electricity early Friday. Details of casualties in Virginia have not yet been divulged by officials.
According to the authorities of North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, the storm has claimed at least six lives, but the exact figure is yet to be assessed. A man was killed in Greensboro after a tree came crashing down on the roof of his home, a 38-year-old man was trampled down by a tree in Statesville, NC, and an 11 –year-old girl was struck by a metal carport leading to her death in Seminole County. Brad Kieserman, the American Red Cross spokesman, conveyed that around 20,000 people were rendered homeless by Friday. Authorities expect the death toll to rise by leaps and bounds in the next few days.