Hurricane Michael ripped through the Florida Panhandle as the strongest storm to come ashore in the U.S. since 1969. The powerful storm then barreled through Georgia — and is targeting the Carolinas next.
Up to 9 inches of rain is possible in North Carolina and Virginia, along with life-threatening flash floods.
The storm has killed at least one person in Florida and another, a child, in Georgia.
A Category 4 landfall
Michael made landfall Wednesday afternoon in the Florida Panhandle near Mexico Beach and Panama City.
As Michael approached the Florida coast, its pressure dropped to about 919 millibars (mb). The lower the pressure, the more intense the storm. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 made landfall with a pressure of 920 millibars.
Michael made landfall as a Category 4 with whopping 155 mph winds. A hurricane reaching 157 mph is in the highest category, a Category 5.
Described by Florida Gov. Rick Scott as “monstrous,” Michael was the worst storm to hit the Florida Panhandle region since the mid-1800s and the first Category 4 hurricane to come ashore in the region on record.
Thursday
Michael has now weakened to a tropical storm and is moving northeast.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect from Georgia to North Carolina, including Savannah, Raleigh, Wilmington and Charleston.
Six to 9 inches of rain could drench Virginia and North Carolina.
North Carolina is still recovering from last month’s Hurricane Florence which dumped massive amounts of rain and caused behind deadly flooding.
But it’s not just the South in the storm’s path. Thursday afternoon a cold front will push east combining its heavy rain with Michael’s moisture, threatening flash flooding from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Boston.
Flood watches are in effect from Georgia to Vermont.
By Thursday night, some heavy rain from Michael will brush through Long Island and New Jersey, where flash flooding is possible.
Some areas as far north as southern New Jersey could see up to 6 inches of rain.
Friday
By mid-Friday morning, the entire storm system will push off the East Coast.
