Hurricane Michael - October 2018

[SeesSeas]

‘We can’t not do this:’ Mexico Beach lights a Christmas tree amid ruins
December 24, 2018

Christmas lights illuminate a home on U.S. 98 in Mexico Beach, most of which remains in a suspended state of destruction two months after Hurricane Michael made landfall on Oct. 10. (DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times)

Residents of Mexico Beach visit during the annual Christmas tree lighting festival hosted on the lawn in front of Mango Marley's restaurant and the Parker Realty building on U.S. 98 in Mexico Beach. (DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times)

 

[SeesSeas]

Kids share Hurricane Michael stories: ‘We were crawling through the trees and jumping’
January 11, 2019
PANAMA CITY — They worried about their pets, their toys, Wi-Fi. They were scared sometimes, or nervous, or just plain bored.

They are the young survivors of Hurricane Michael, kids who witnessed one of the strongest storms on record ravage the place they call home. Months after the October storm, residents of Bay County — the epicenter of the destruction — were still grappling with piles of debris, job loss and limited housing, forcing some to relocate.
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So far, the story of Hurricane Michael has been told by the grownups — more than 40 people dead, damage estimated in the billions of dollars.

Here, edited for length and clarity, is what some of the children have to say about the storm.
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R.J.: "You know those books — well, I’m not sure if everybody’s heard this, but I’m a bookworm so — have you ever heard in books how they described the wind as 'howling'? This one literally sounded like a pack of wolves were howling. And I hear these trees that, it sounds like you’re cracking a toothpick in your ear. And next thing you know, there's a tree on your car."
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[SeesSeas]

‘Should you give up?’ Hurricane Michael left a beloved motel in ruins and its owners with an impossible choice
‘Should you give up?’ Hurricane Michael left a beloved motel in ruins and its owners with an impossible choice
The storm destroyed the Driftwood Inn in Mexico Beach, home to the Wood family for 43 years. Now they must contemplate rebuilding.
January 25, 2019
First in a series.
MEXICO BEACH — The Woods had a rule for surviving hurricanes.

A Category 1 or 2 was no reason to panic. They could ride it out in a room at the Driftwood Inn, waves seething outside their back windows.

If forecasters called for anything stronger, it was time to go.
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It was as if almost everything the Woods owned had collapsed in an avalanche of time.

“Can you imagine that you worked for 50 years building something and in three or four hours the whole thing just went away?” Peggy said later. “Just how did this all happen to me so fast?”
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[SeesSeas]

Hurricane Michael upgraded to a Category 5 at time of U.S. landfall | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Post-storm analysis estimates sustained winds of 160 mph
April 19, 2019
Scientists at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center conducted a detailed post-storm analysis on all the data available for Hurricane Michael and have determined that the storm’s estimated intensity at landfall was 140 knots (160 mph). This final wind intensity is a 5 knot (5 mph) increase over the operational estimate and makes Michael a category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale at the time of landfall on October 10, 2018, near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
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The real-time operational intensity estimate was 135 knots (155 mph). The final best track intensity estimate of 140 knots (160 mph) was determined by a review of the available aircraft winds, surface winds, surface pressures, satellite intensity estimates and Doppler radar velocities – including data and analyses that were not available in real time. The 5 knot (5 mph) increase in the estimated maximum sustained wind speed from the operational estimate is small and well within the normal range of uncertainty.
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Hurricane Michael Posthumously Upgraded to Category 5 Storm
PUBLISHED 10:23 AM EDT Apr. 19, 2019
NATIONWIDE — Hurricane Michael was actually a Category 5 storm when it slammed into the Florida Panhandle last October, federal forecasters say.
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This makes Michael the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since Andrew in 1992, they said, and only the fourth on record (the others are the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 and 1969's Hurricane Camille).
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