The video captures choppy seas and soaking rain, before switching to a shot of the sky being lit up by terrifying lightning bolts that strike one after another. A Twitter user shared the video, saying: “Live look: @RoyalCarribean’s #EmpressoftheSeas chasing #HurricaneMichael around #Cuba. Arrival to #Havana severely delayed.” The user then added in comments below: “It stayed rough all night. We’ve rounded Cuba and it was supposed to calm around 6am, but it’s still pretty windy and choppy so I’m not sure if it ever did.

“Clouds have opened way more than they were before though.” A second user replied: “Thanks for the peek at what a hurricane looks and sounds like from aboard ship. “I have a personal interest in this.. a son and daughter and their spouses are on the Empress with you.” Hurricane Michael is currently barreling its way towards the US Gulf Coast as an “extremely dangerous” category 4 hurricane.

The fast-moving storm was located about 140 miles from Panama City and 130 miles from Apalachicola Florida, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest update. Wind speeds intensified to 140mph and the NHC warned Michael was set to bring “life-threatening storm surge, hurricane winds and heavy rains”. Michael could be the worst hurricane in the history of the Florida Panhandle, NHC said. The huge storm is expected to make landfall late afternoon on Wednesday, dumping up to 12 inches of rainfall as its hits Florida’s Gulf Shore.

A state of emergency has been declared for the whole state by President Donald Trump, while thousands of people are under mandatory evacuation orders. An estimated 500,000 people were under evacuation orders and advisories in Florida, where residents and tourists were fleeing low-lying areas in at least 20 counties. The vast swathe of evacuation orders stretches along some 200 miles (322 km) of shore in the Panhandle and adjacent Big Bend region. Florida Governor Rick Scott tweeted today: “THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to evacuate before conditions start deteriorating within the next few hours.”</s>A satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Michael off the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said the storm, which local forecasters are calling an ‘unprecedented’ weather event for the area, is expected to slam ashore on Wednesday with ’life-threatening’ storm surges.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Hurricane Michael has intensified into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it bears down on the Florida Panhandle, which is bracing for extreme winds and flooding on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Michael is poised to make landfall on the Panhandle later Wednesday while pushing up to 13 feet of ocean water into the coast and drenching parts of three states in as much as a foot of rain. The storm was recently packing maximum-sustained winds of 140 miles an hour while tropical-storm conditions began spreading onshore.

Officials in 22 Florida counties ordered or urged residents to evacuate ahead of the storm, but it wasn’t known how many people heeded warnings to get out of harm’s way. Gov. Rick Scott cautioned that storm surge could reach above rooftops. “This storm is deadly. Do not take a chance,” he said Tuesday. The state is bracing for the second Category 4 storm in 13 months, after getting hit by Hurricane Irma last year. But Michael left the state much less time to prepare, surging from a tropical depression off the Mexico coast to a major hurricane in just two days. The storm could cause “catastrophic wind damage” where the center moves ashore, according to the hurricane center. The storm is expected to remain a hurricane into Georgia as it crosses through the Southeast. Michael poses the risk for significant storm surge along Florida’s Gulf coast</s>As Hurricane Michael turned into a Category storm and headed toward the Florida panhandle, spaghetti models provide a view of the storm’s path. The storm could become the strongest hurricane to ever strike the panhandle in history.

As a result, many people are closely watching the hurricane’s path to give them a sense of where it might strike (all projections are just that, of course, and are subject to change). It’s expected that the hurricane could make landfall around Panama City Beach, Florida.

Here is a listing of some of the best sites that you can use to track updated spaghetti models for Hurricane Michael:

Cyclocane has a page that contains continuously updated spaghetti models for Hurricane Michael. You can access it here. The site also has a page with additional weather forecast information about Hurricane Michael that you can see here.

NOAA is also a good place to check for updated Hurricane Michael spaghetti models and forecasts. Make sure you choose “Michael” via the storm ID tab that you see on the top left of the page.

The South Florida Water Management District publishes a page of updated spaghetti models for hurricanes, including Michael. You can access all of the page’s hurricane model plots here. Choose “storm 14.”

Local television stations in the Florida area are also broadcasting spaghetti models.

The National Weather Service provides extremely detailed weather forecast, models, and radar for Hurricane Michael broken down by locality.

You can find the National Hurricane Center’s hurricane page here, which includes information about Hurricane Michael.

On the morning of October 10, 2018, the update read as follows:

“At 700 AM CDT (1200 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Michael was located

 near latitude 29.0 North, longitude 86.3 West. Michael is moving

 toward the north near 13 mph (20 km/h). A turn toward the north-

 northeast is expected later this morning, with a turn toward the

 northeast expected this afternoon or tonight. A motion toward the

 northeast at a faster forward speed is forecast on Thursday and

 Friday. On the forecast track, the eye of Michael is expected to

 move ashore over the Florida Panhandle later today, move

 northeastward across the southeastern United States tonight and

 Thursday, and then move off the Mid-Atlantic coast away from the

 United States on Friday.

Reports from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft

 indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 145 mph

 (230 km/h) with higher gusts. Michael is an extremely dangerous

 category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

 Some additional strengthening is possible before landfall. After

 landfall, Michael should weaken as it crosses the southeastern

 United States.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from

 the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185

 miles (295 km). A wind gust to 56 mph (91 km/h) was recently

 reported at Apalachicola Regional Airport.

The estimated minimum central pressure based on NOAA and Air Force

 Reserve Hunter aircraft data is 933 mb (27.55 inches).”</s>Gayle Sweet didn’t get to say goodbye to the love of her life.

She sits in her dad’s red truck, her blue eyes welling with tears, staring at the home she’s lived in for the past 13 years. On Wednesday, Hurricane Michael left it in shambles.

It also took her husband Steve Sweet with it.

As Hurricane Michael roared through the Panhandle and Big Bend Wednesday afternoon, Gayle and Steve walked onto the front porch of their home in Gretna, a small town of about 1,400 residents west of Quincy. They heard a tall pine tree crash down across the street.

They quickly shuffled back inside to shelter from the wind that was picking up, when a large oak tree smashed through their roof, taking them down with it.

“The wind came whipping across,” she said, “and the next thing I know it went black.”

Steve, 44, was pinned under the tree, his torso sprawled on her lap. Her left leg twisted underneath the trunk. She cried for help and was able to phone her dad, who lives nearby. He came with her brother-in-law and pulled her out.

She made it out alive. Her husband didn’t. Her dad and brother-in-law weren’t able to pull him out from under the weight of the tree. He died in her lap.

“It’s a nightmare,” Gayle, 53, said, shaking her head. “Just a nightmare. And I keep trying to wake up.”

Gayle Sweet's husband Steve was killed after a tree crashed through their Gretna home as Hurricane Michael blew through on Wednesday.

Steve Sweet is one of four reported deaths in Gadsden County from the passage of Hurricane Michael, which came ashore in the Panhandle as a Category 4 storm Wednesday afternoon.

Most residents were without power in Gadsden County, which is less than 100 miles east of where the storm made landfall. In Michael's aftermath, downed power lines and oak trees split at the bases of their trunks are a common sight in the county-seat, Quincy.

On Thursday, more than 18 hours after Michael brought her tragedy, Gayle appeared still dazed, streaks of dry blood stain in her blonde hair. She hit her head when the tree crashed. Red cuts line her left shoulder and foot. Michael not only stole her husband. The storm's aftermath frustrated attempts to recover his body. Steve’s body was still inside as of 1 p.m. Thursday. Gayle refused to go to the hospital until he is out.

She closes her eyes and whispers, “I just want him out. I just want them to get him out.”

She says a Federal Emergency Management Agency representative stopped by to assess damage around 8 a.m. A Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office investigator also stopped by. She was told there were other fatalities around the county and wasn’t given a time frame as to when he could be pulled out.

teve Sweet was a sales manager at the Chevrolet-Buick Quincy dealership, where Gayle is an office manager. They just celebrated their 15th anniversary last Valentine’s Day. The soft-hearted man with the silly sense of humor would always give his wife bracelets and necklaces. He had her name tattooed onto his arm.

“He was one-of-a-kind,” she said.

Before the storm, he bought ice for a woman who didn’t have the money, Gayle said.

Gayle’s brother Joey Livings, 49, said Steve was the kind of man who would do all he could to help someone.

“He's done everything for everybody,” Livings said, resisting tears. He remembered the time Steve spent all day and night fixing Livings’ truck.

“I can get that for you, Joey,” he’d always say. “There wasn’t a time you could not call him that he wouldn’t drop everything and come help you.”

© Gannett Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved</s>Tyndall Air Force Base, situated on a peninsula just south of Panama City, said that it took a “direct hit” from Hurricane Michael, according to a post published on their Facebook page.

The storm was a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall and slammed into the Florida Panhandle with terrifying winds of 155 mph Wednesday.

Hundreds of military families were moved out after the base commander ordered a mandatory evacuation of base personnel on Monday. There are no injuries reported at this time.

The military base also said on Facebook that the storm brought down tress, power lines and removed roofs from the building causing significant structural damage.

Tyndall Air Force Base had recorded wind gusts of up to 129 mph before the weather station signal was lost this afternoon, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

The evacuation order remains in effect until further notice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>NEW ORLEANS - Video shows a meteorologist and the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying straight through the eyewall of Hurricane Michael as it was making landfall along the Florida Panhandle. "With Michael being a very strong Category 4 upon landfall, it had a very well-defined eye, with the ‘stadium effect,’ as it’s called, and it was a very rare thing to see in person.”

WGNO's Jason Disharoon joined The Hurricane Hunters, formally known as the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squad, for an amazing ride straight through the heart of Hurricane Michael.

The initial flight was smooth, but things got steadily more turbulent as the aircraft got closer and closer to the eye of the storm.

Once they finally punched through Hurricane Michael’s eyewall, Disharoon and the rest of the Hurricane Hunter crew were treated to a spectacular sight.

“It wasn’t until we hit the eyewall that things kind of got a little dicey,” he said. “The turbulence was astounding, but it was all worth it, because once you make it through the eyewall, you finally make it into the eye. With Michael being a very strong Category 4 upon landfall, it had a very well-defined eye, with the ‘stadium effect,’ as it’s called, and it was a very rare thing to see in person.”

The Hurricane Hunters also got to see another rare site while they were flying through the eye of the storm – Michael’s storm surge cascading over the coastline along the Florida Panhandle.

Long after landfall, Hurricane Michael’s impact was still being felt along the Florida coast and much further inland, and the recovery process is going to be long and difficult for those who lost homes and property to Michael’s devastating winds and water.

“Unfortunately, as beautiful as the storm is up top, it is deadly down below,” Disharoon said.</s>Hamilton fans know the lyric: "In the eye of a hurricane, there is quiet/for just a moment."

US Air Force Reserve Pilot Will Simmons experienced that quiet Wednesday morning, and it's just as eerie as in Alexander Hamilton's day. Simmons was flying a USAF Hurricane Hunter mission out of Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and after multiple passes through the eye, finally had enough daylight to see the massive storm.

"Life-threatening effects are imminent along parts of the Florida panhandle," he wrote in a tweet sharing a video of that brief moment in the eye.

Monstrous clouds surround the plane like walls as the crew flies through and records the video.

"I love the job, but at the same time, hate that I had to go out to fly this today," Simmons wrote. "Extremely powerful hurricane."

Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida Wednesday morning as a category 4 storm that the New York Times called "frighteningly powerful."

"This is the worst storm that our Florida Panhandle has seen in a century," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "Hurricane Michael is upon us, and now is the time to seek refuge."

The National Weather Service issued a chilling message Wednesday morning. "Landfall of #HurricaneMichael is imminent," the organization tweeted. "THIS IS A WORST CASE SCENARIO for the Florida Panhandle!!"

Webcams in Florida are also recording the storm activity, though intensifying conditions could force them offline.</s>Hurricane Michael is strengthening as it races over the Gulf of Mexico approaching a landfall along Florida's Panhandle. Forecasters say deadly storm surge, catastrophic wind damage and heavy rainfall are imminent.The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the Category 4 storm has maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) and is moving at 13 mph (20 kph). At 8 a.m., Michael was centered about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Panama City, with tropical storm force winds already lashing the coast.The hurricane center says Michael will be the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall on the Florida Panhandle.The unexpected brute that quickly sprang from a weekend tropical depression grew swiftly, rising in days to a catastrophic storm. Around midday it was expected to become one of the Panhandle's worst hurricanes in memory with heavy rainfall expected along the northeastern Gulf Coast and life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters).Florida officials said roughly 375,000 people up and down the Gulf Coast had been urged or ordered to evacuate. Evacuations spanned 22 counties from the Florida Panhandle into north central Florida. But fears lingered that some failed to heed the calls to get out of Michael's way as the hard-charging storm began speeding north over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.Worried meteorologists said it had the potential of becoming one of the worst storms in the history of Florida's Panhandle."I guess it's the worst case scenario. I don't think anyone would have experienced this in the Panhandle," meteorologist Ryan Maue of weathermodels.com told The Associated Press. "This is going to have structure damaging winds along the coast and hurricane force winds inland."Cameras outside the International Space Station captured views of Hurricane Michael on Tuesday. The Hurricane is expected to make landfall in the Florida panhandle on Wednesday.University of Georgia's Marshall Shepherd, a former president of the American Meteorological Society, called it a "life-altering event" on Facebook and said he watched the storm's growth on satellite images with a pit growing in his stomach.Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith near the vulnerable coast said his deputies had gone door to door in some places urging people to evacuate. "We have done everything we can as far as getting the word out," Smith said. "Hopefully more people will leave."On the exposed coast of Florida's Big Bend, most of the waterfront homes in Keaton Beach stood vacant amid fears of a life-threatening storm surge in an area that hadn't seen a potentially catastrophic major hurricane in decades. Even so, 77-year-old resident Robert Sadousky wasn't quite ready to evacuate yet.The retired mill worker has spent more than half his life on the coast and weathered his share of storms. He chose the spot where his house stands on tall stilts overlooking the Gulf waters in 1972 after it was the only lot left dry after a storm flooded the beach that year.While most homes around him are vacation rentals or summer getaways for their owners, Sadousky had stayed put through more than four decades of storms. No longer. Michael was expected to bring surging seas up 9 feet (2.75 meters) above ground level at Keaton Beach."I know it's going to cover everything around here," Sadousky said Tuesday, eyeing water lapping at the edge of a canal behind his home. He pulled two small boat docks from the water, packed his pickup and picked some beans from his garden before getting out - like hundreds of thousands elsewhere."We don't know if it's going to wipe out our house or not," Jason McDonald, of Panama City, said as he and his wife drove north to safety into Alabama with their two children, ages 5 and 7. "We want to get them out of the way."Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned it was a "monstrous hurricane," and his Democratic opponent for the Senate, Sen. Bill Nelson, said a "wall of water" could cause 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.But some officials were worried by what they weren't seeing - a rush of evacuees."I am not seeing the level of traffic on the roadways that I would expect when we've called for the evacuation of 75 percent of this county," Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said.In the dangerously exposed coastal town of Apalachicola, population 2,500, Sally Crown planned to go home and hunker down with her two dogs."We've been through this before," she said. "This might be really bad and serious. But in my experience, it's always blown way out of proportion."Mandatory evacuation orders went into effect in Panama City Beach and other low-lying areas in the storm's path. That included Pensacola Beach but not in Pensacola itself, a city of about 54,000.Michael could dump up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain over some Panhandle communities before its remnants go back out to sea by way of the mid-Atlantic states over the next few days. Forecasters said it also could bring 3 to 6 inches of rain to Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, triggering flash flooding in a corner of the country still recovering from Florence. And isolated tornadoes were also possible.</s>1 de 13 | Palm trees are seen during a Hurricane Michael in Panama City - MDTY 3TP NARCH/NARCH30 (REUTERS, X04130, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

2 de 13 | A truck drives along a road that has been washed out as Hurricane Michael comes ashore in Alligator Point (REUTERS, X90181, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

3 de 13 | Lenora Adams loads up her dog as she evacuates a motel as Hurricane Michael comes ashore in Panacea (REUTERS, X90181, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

4 de 13 | Waves crash along a pier as Hurricane Michael approaches Panama City Beach (REUTERS, X02987, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

5 de 13 | Palm trees are seen as Hurricane Michael approaches Panama City Beach (REUTERS, X02987, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

6 de 13 | Waves take over a house as Hurricane Michael comes ashore in Alligator Point (REUTERS, X90181, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

7 de 13 | Waves crash along a pier as Hurricane Michael approaches Panama City Beach (REUTERS, X02987, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

8 de 13 | Waves take over a house as Hurricane Michael comes ashore in Alligator Point (REUTERS, X90181, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

9 de 13 | U.S. President Trump holds Oval Office meeting on Hurricane Michael at the White House in Washington (REUTERS, X90178, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

10 de 13 | Rachel Ellison stands in the doorway to her apartment at the Lighthouse Motel, where she planned to ride out Hurricane Michael, in Panacea (REUTERS, X02008, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

11 de 13 | Waves crash on stilt houses along the shore due to Hurricane Michael at Alligator Point in Franklin County (REUTERS, X02008, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

12 de 13 | FILE PHOTO: Waves crash along a pier as Hurricane Michael approaches Panama City Beach - NARCH/NARCH30 (REUTERS, X02987, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)

13 de 13 | A pickup truck manoeuvres around crashing waves due to Hurricane Michael at Alligator Point in Franklin County (REUTERS, X02008, Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company)</s>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Michael roared down on the Florida Panhandle strengthening into a Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday before it crashes against the region's white-sand beaches, fishing villages and coastal communities later in the day.

The unexpected brute that quickly sprang from a weekend tropical depression grew swiftly, rising in days to a catastrophic storm. Around midday it was expected to become one of the Panhandle's worst hurricanes in memory with heavy rainfall expected along the northeastern Gulf Coast and life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters).

Florida officials said roughly 375,000 people up and down the Gulf Coast had been urged or ordered to evacuate. Evacuations spanned 22 counties from the Florida Panhandle into north central Florida. But fears lingered that some failed to heed the calls to get out of Michael's way as the hard-charging storm began speeding north over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Worried meteorologists said it had the potential of becoming one of the worst storms in the history of Florida's Panhandle.

"I guess it's the worst case scenario. I don't think anyone would have experienced this in the Panhandle," meteorologist Ryan Maue of weathermodels.com told The Associated Press. "This is going to have structure damaging winds along the coast and hurricane force winds inland."

University of Georgia's Marshall Shepherd, a former president of the American Meteorological Society, called it a "life-altering event" on Facebook and said he watched the storm's growth on satellite images with a pit growing in his stomach.

Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith near the vulnerable coast said his deputies had gone door to door in some places urging people to evacuate. "We have done everything we can as far as getting the word out," Smith said. "Hopefully more people will leave."

On the exposed coast of Florida's Big Bend, most of the waterfront homes in Keaton Beach stood vacant amid fears of a life-threatening storm surge in an area that hadn't seen a potentially catastrophic major hurricane in decades. Even so, 77-year-old resident Robert Sadousky wasn't quite ready to evacuate yet.

The retired mill worker has spent more than half his life on the coast and weathered his share of storms. He chose the spot where his house stands on tall stilts overlooking the Gulf waters in 1972 after it was the only lot left dry after a storm flooded the beach that year.

While most homes around him are vacation rentals or summer getaways for their owners, Sadousky had stayed put through more than four decades of storms. No longer. Michael was expected to bring surging seas up 9 feet (2.75 meters) above ground level at Keaton Beach.

"I know it's going to cover everything around here," Sadousky said Tuesday, eyeing water lapping at the edge of a canal behind his home. He pulled two small boat docks from the water, packed his pickup and picked some beans from his garden before getting out — like hundreds of thousands elsewhere.

At 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, the eye of Michael was about 180 miles (289 kilometers) south-southwest of Panama City, Florida. It also was about 170 miles (273 kilometers) southwest of Apalachicola, Florida. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (281 kilometers).

"We don't know if it's going to wipe out our house or not," Jason McDonald, of Panama City, said as he and his wife drove north to safety into Alabama with their two children, ages 5 and 7. "We want to get them out of the way."

Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned it was a "monstrous hurricane," and his Democratic opponent for the Senate, Sen. Bill Nelson, said a "wall of water" could cause 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.

But some officials were worried by what they weren't seeing — a rush of evacuees.

"I am not seeing the level of traffic on the roadways that I would expect when we've called for the evacuation of 75 percent of this county," Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said.

In the dangerously exposed coastal town of Apalachicola, population 2,500, Sally Crown planned to go home and hunker down with her two dogs.

"We've been through this before," she said. "This might be really bad and serious. But in my experience, it's always blown way out of proportion."

Mandatory evacuation orders went into effect in Panama City Beach and other low-lying areas in the storm's path. That included Pensacola Beach but not in Pensacola itself, a city of about 54,000.

Michael could dump up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain over some Panhandle communities before its remnants go back out to sea by way of the mid-Atlantic states over the next few days. Forecasters said it also could bring 3 to 6 inches of rain to Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, triggering flash flooding in a corner of the country still recovering from Florence. And isolated tornadoes were also possible.

Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Keaton Beach, Florida, Jay Reeves in Panama City Beach, Florida, Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina and Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Hurricane Michael strengthens to a "potentially catastrophic" Category 4 hurricane and makes landfall on the Florida Panhandle.