Current Location: 25.3N, 86.4W
Geographic Reference: 335 miles south of Panama City, FL
Movement: North at 14 mph
Max Winds: 110 mph gusting to 130 mph
Organizational Trend: Strengthening
Forecast Confidence: Average

A recon plane inside Michael has found that maximum sustained winds are up to 110 mph, making Michael almost a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. We think that Michael’s winds will peak at 125 mph over the next 12-18 hours as it tracks steadily northward toward the Florida Panhandle. Satellite indicates that Michael’s squalls do not yet extend far enough to the east to impact the Florida Peninsula, as can be seen in the image above. However, as Michael continues moving northward, squalls will brush the west coast of Florida late this afternoon and on Wednesday.

We do not anticipate making any significant changes in the forecast in our next advisory.

Our next full advisory will be issued by 3 PM CDT

Meteorologists: Chris Hebert / Derek Ortt

Lat.	Lon.	Max Sustained Winds	Category
25.30N	86.40W	110 mph	Category 2