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(ORLANDO, Florida) – A tropical storm that quickly formed off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula picked up steam and could become a Category 2 hazardous hurricane with a midweek strike on the Pacific coast. Gulf of Florida Panhandle, according to forecasts.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has ordered a state of emergency in 26 counties to speed up preparations in the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend areas, freeing up resources and activating 500 members of the Florida National Guard .
"This storm will be life threatening and extremely dangerous," said Scott after a briefing at the State Emergency Operations Center. He warned that the storm surge could affect areas of Florida that are not directly on the path of the storm.
Michael emerged on Sunday in the form of a tropical storm with winds of up to 50 mph (85 km / h). But a few hours later, Sunday, he had recovered strength and sustained wind at 95 km / h at the end of Sunday night. The storm is expected to turn into a hurricane Monday night or Tuesday, its center crossing the Yucatan Canal, then crossing the Gulf of Mexico, approaching Wednesday the Florida Panhandle Coast.
The storm was located at 23 hours. Sunday HE about 170 miles (170 kilometers) east-southeast of Cozumel (Mexico) and moving north at about 5 mph (7 km / h). The winds of the tropical storm had spread over 275 km, mostly northeast and southeast of the storm center.
Forecasters have advised residents of the northeastern and central Gulf Coast to monitor the progress of the storm.
The city of Tallahassee, in northern Florida, opened Sunday two places where people could get sandbags in case of flood.
"Although the impacts remain uncertain, our region could experience increased wind activity and heavy rainfall, which could lead to localized floods and felled trees," a Tallahassee official said in a statement.
The mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum, Democratic nominee for governor, had planned to campaign on Monday and Tuesday in South Florida, but he said he would return to Tallahassee to participate in the preparations for the storm.
The city of Pensacola tweeted to residents, "Make sure your emergency plan is in place."
A tropical storm warning was in effect in the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth, as well as on the Mexican coast from Tulum to Cabo Catoche. A warning indicates that tropical storm conditions are expected, in this case, within 24 hours.
The hurricane center warned that the storm could produce a foot (30 cm) of rain in western Cuba, potentially causing floods and landslides in mountainous areas. The rains in western Cuba were to begin Sunday night and continue Monday.
An Air Force hurricane fighter plane was sent into the storm to investigate, the hurricane center announced.
Michael is the 13th storm of the 2018 hurricane season, according to hurricane center spokesman Dennis Feltgen.
