Hurricane Michael Approaches NE Florida

By Maria Ribot (Managing Layout Editor) and Bre Jarvis (Co-Editor-in-Chief)

Hurricane Michael is currently heading towards Florida’s panhandle and is expected to hit the northeast region of Florida by Wednesday afternoon and die off during Thursday morning.

Winds should reach St. Johns county by tomorrow evening, October 9, at around 8:00.

Hurricane and storm surge watches have been issued throughout the gulf coast of Florida, with a major focus on the panhandle. Many schools and universities, including Florida State University, have already been canceled for the remainder of the week. As of now, the St. Johns County School District has not released a statement on whether our schools will close during the hurricane.

Concerning the hurricane, Governor Rick Scott said: “If any Florida family doesn’t have an emergency preparedness plan, now is the time to act.” He recommends that families gather three days’ worth of food, water, and medicine in preparation for Michael.

Floridians should begin preparing for the storm now, before grocery store shelves are cleared of supplies. Do not delay―your family should procure water and nonperishable food items, as well as flashlights and an emergency radio if you don’t already have them.

Michael will be a Category 3 hurricane by the time it reaches the Nease area, so be ready to possibly lose electricity and water for several days.

A list of Florida counties currently in a state of emergency can be found here. Make sure to check out our Instagram account, @nhsvertical, for more updates.

Cover photo credit: New York Times

Sources:

National Weather Service: https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=FL125AC1D29884.HurricaneLocalStatement.125AC1DF6C1CFL.JAXHLSJAX.d79e226330c5f5a1c520163ad49fb939

The Weather Channel: https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2018-10-08-hurricane-michael-forecast-gulf-coast-florida

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2018/10/08/michael-strengthens-hurricane-is-forecast-make-landfall-florida-dangerous-category-midweek/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.17299ff54322

AccuWeather: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/state-of-emergency-declared-schools-close-in-florida-as-storm-preparations-begin-for-hurricane-michael/70006275