Hurricane Michael Strengthens; Could Be Category 3

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- In an 11:40 a.m. briefing from the National Hurricane Center, Director Ken Graham said Hurricane Michael said Hurricane Michael could potentially become a Category 3 hurricane as it heads further up the Gulf and the eye wall becomes more developed.

"This is a dangerous hurricane. It now has an inner core and will strengthen rapidly over the next 24 hours," he said. "Now is the time to get ready. You gotta known your risks, gotta know your vulnerability."

He said residents in the path of the hurricane should prepare today and early tomorrow. If they wait until Tuesday evening, it will be too late. The hurricane is expected to make landfall between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday.

"One of the biggest impacts will be storm surge (flooding)," he said. "Storm surge causes half of the casualties during a hurricane."

He said storm surge usually has the most impact on the right side of a storm. He is forecasting surge of 4 to 6 feet in Indian Pass and Crystal River and 2 to 4 feet in Tampa.

But, due to the intensity of Hurricane Michael, Graham believes areas to the left of the hurricane, including the Apalachicola area in the Florida Panhandle will experience storm storm of 5 to 8 feet.

As for rainfall, Graham said forecasters are predicting 6 to 10 inches of rain from Tallahassee to central Georgia.

"Some places could get 12 inches of rain," he said.

And residents could experience winds of 100 to 120 mph, with a potential to reach 140 mph. It is now packing winds of 70 mph.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for 26 counties as then-Tropical Storm Michael pummeled Cuba.

In a press conference this morning, Scott said he has activated 500 National Guard troops in advance of the storm.

"This storm will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous," said Scott. "This storm has the potential to bring devastating impacts to communities across the Panhandle and Big Bend."

Like Graham, he urged residents to prepare now.

"Everybody's got to get ready. Don't take a chance," he said. "We're going to get storm surge; we have wind; we have a chance of flooding; we have a significant chance of tornadoes."

Patch is tracking every move of Tropical Storm Michael. Get all the updates on the storm by subscribing to Patch's free breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.

Scott's state of emergency includes the counties of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy and Citrus counties.
A hurricane watch has been declared for the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida.

Tropical storm and storm surge watches have been issued from the Mississippi-Alabama border to Tampa Bay.

Video via NHC Facebook

The National Hurricane Center models show Tropical Storm Michael heading to the Panhandle.