Hurricane Michael Was A Category 5, NOAA Finds -- The First Since Andrew In 1992

[jpak]

Source: NPR

Scientists at NOAA's National Hurricane Center have found that Hurricane Michael had an intensity of 160 mph when it made landfall at the Florida Panhandle last October. That means it was a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale — just one of four such U.S. storms on record.

Hurricane Michael had been classified as a Category 4, at 155 mph. The last hurricane of such intensity at landfall was Hurricane Andrew, which struck South Florida and Louisiana in 1992.

Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. It caused 16 deaths and $25 billion in damage in the U.S. Before arriving in Florida, the storm passed over western Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane.

Hurricane Michael is the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on the Panhandle, and it devastated communities there. In Mexico Beach, more than three-quarters of the homes were flattened by winds. Six months later, some businesses have reopened, but the area is far from recovered.

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Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/19/715134716/hurricane-michael-was-a-category-5-noaa-finds-the-first-since-andrew-in-1992

[GumboYaYa]

1. Andrew was a 4 when it passed over us.

We had sustained winds of around 145 mph and gusts up to 175 mph. It was one of the scariest nights of my life.

[Phoenix61]

2. However bad you may think it is

I promise you it's worse. There is no way to wrap your head around it without seeing it. I tried telling a friend how bad it was. She didn't believe me until she was driving on I-10, 50 miles inland and saw the trees snapped like toothpicks mile after mile after mile. Hopefully, the change in rating will give us some desperately needed air time that will generate some much needed funds. People are still sleeping in tents.

[groundloop]

4. I remember riding through the path of Camille several months after it hit.....

I was pretty young then but I'll never forget the sight of trees down for miles and miles.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Was looking at some info on a weather forum I frequent

and they said that they concluded that it had sustained 160 mph at landfall. The damage was certainly reflective of that.

Here was there tweet earlier today -

Link to tweet

TEXT
NOAA Communications
✔
@NOAAComms

NOAA analysis determined Hurricane Michael was a Category 5 #hurricane at landfall last October. Details at https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/hurricane-michael-upgraded-to-category-5-at-time-of-us-landfall …

9:59 AM - Apr 19, 2019

Media link - https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/hurricane-michael-upgraded-to-category-5-at-time-of-us-landfall