'Mexico Beach is gone': Photos from post-Michael Florida
theweathernetwork.com
Friday, October 12, 2018, 7:00 AM - A grim picture of the post-Hurricane Michael Florida Panhandle is emerging in the wake of the historic storm's Wednesday landfall. The most powerful storm on record to strike the Panhandle, and the third most powerful storm on record for the entire continental United States, Michael roared into the town of Mexico Beach on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane, boasting winds in excess of 240 km/h, with stronger gusts.
As storm surge inundation more than 6 feet high receded on Thursday, first responders and rescue teams began the somber task of surveying the damage.
Hurricane center Director Ken Graham said on Facebook that Michael would be the worst storm in recorded history to hit the Panhandle.
"Going back through records to 1851 we can’t find another Cat 4 in this area, so this is unfortunately a historical and incredibly dangerous and life-threatening situation," he said.
Post tropical storm Michael is on a northeastward track, where the core of the storm continues to move through the Mid-Atlantic on its way back to the ocean. After it moves offshore, it will skim past Atlantic Canada on a route that takes the remnants of the storm toward Europe.
