Hurricane Michael made landfall Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane near Mexico Beach, Florida, just before 1 PM local time. Rains driven by 155 mph winds quickly flooded streets, and Gov Rick Scott said he had received no confirmed reports of any deaths as of Wednesday evening.
A look from @NOAA's #GOES16 Day Cloud Convection RGB at #Michael, which has just been upgraded to hurricane status. For the latest on the forecast track & intensity, visit the @NHC_Atlantic website: https://t.co/0dbkI2SVxc pic.twitter.com/i0g1McRbLL
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) October 8, 2018
Power losses were widespread, with about 200,000 customers in Florida without electricity. The storm was headed to Georgia a few hours later, having been downgraded to a Category 3, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.
(National Hurricane Center / NOAA)
Closings and cancellations
All Bay District Schools in Bay County, Florida, including those in Panama City and Mexico Beach, were closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, as were all schools in Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Holmes, and Okaloosa counties, news reports said.
Several school buildings have been opened as storm shelters, including Rutherford High School in Panama City as well as Northside Elementary School, though shelters were reportedly nearing capacity as of Wednesday afternoon.