HURRICANE MICHAEL 10/10/2018

Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclonethat became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. Additionally, it was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States in terms of pressure, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricaneand Hurricane Camille in 1969. It was the first Category 5 hurricane on record to impact the Florida Panhandle, the fourth-strongest landfalling hurricane in the contiguous United States, in terms of wind speed, and the most intense hurricane on record to strike the United States in the month of October.

I copied that from Wikipedia. Hurricane Michael was a tropical storm up until 9 pm on October 9, 2018. It intensified into a hurricane in 6 hours. It was only predicted to be a category 1 hurricane with wind speeds of 70 mph. Right before it made landfall it intensified to a category 5. By comparison Hurricane Katrina was a category 3 when it made landfall.

At the tip of the St. Joseph Peninsula the hurricane created a 1000 foot wide channel connecting the bay with the gulf.

Crazy what hurricanes can do.