ROANOKE, Va. – UPDATE
Michael became a hurricane on Monday morning.
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It's currently a category 1 storm.
According to the NHC, it is expected to intensify into a category 3 hurricane Tuesday and make landfall on Wednesday near the Florida Panhandle.
SUNDAY ARTICLE
Michael developed near the Yucatan Peninsula Sunday afternoon. As of Sunday night, Michael is It is forecast to move north toward the Gulf Coast of Alabama or Florida Panhandle by midweek as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane.
From there, all indications are that it will move farther north or to the northeast. That has an implication on our weather here at home.
If it were to track north and closer to the Appalachian Mountains, we could see higher rain totals and gustier winds later this coming week. If it tracks farther east towards the I-95 corridor, we would be on the drier side of the system.
That's why it's important to stay up to speed on forecast updates in the coming days. Hurricane Hunters are collecting data on the storm, and that data will be fed into our forecast models. By Monday afternoon or early Tuesday, we should have a better idea as to what this storm means for us, if anything.
A few key notes:
1. Michael is not Florence. We understand that that is the last storm we have to reference, but these are two different storms. Michael is moving from the south and is moving faster.
2. We're not at a point to give you specific rain totals just yet, but it is our job to give you a heads up to the potential impacts Michael could have.
3. A cold front will help usher Michael away from the area by next Friday and next weekend, allowing more fall-like weather to settle in.
4. We will keep you updated on the latest track, intensity, timing and potential impacts on our area on air, online, on social media and on the StormTeam 10 app.