hurricane

Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 early Wednesday afternoon and moved into southwest Georgia as a Category 3 storm, officials said.

A tornado watch was issued until 2 a.m. Thursday for most of the state and tornado warnings have been issued as far north as Cobb County.

Hurricane Michael makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday. The hurricane is expected to hit the northeastern coast of Georgia and continue through the southwest and center of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

We spoke with Marshall Shepherd, the program director for atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia, about tracking the hurricane over the week and how meterologists convey the severity of storms. We also spoke with Gwen Cooper, an author and pet rescue expert about what to do with pets during extreme weather.

Barely a month after cleanup from the last major hurricane to hit the Southeast, Hurricane Michael is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge along portions of the Florida Panhandle and damaging winds through Georgia, officials say.

About 10 a.m. Tuesday, Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in 92 counties in the state.

Michael is expected to make landfall Wednesday as a Category 3 major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The latest forecasts show Hurricane Florence making landfall in the Carolinas, but the storm’s already causing dangerous conditions on Georgia’s beaches.

The effects of the first named storm of 2018 claimed lives before the official start of hurricane season, but leaders with Georgia Power, the National Weather Service and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency have been investing in technology, planning and preparing.

Despite advances in technology, the best resource for damage assessment after a storm is "boots on the ground," Georgia Power's David Maske said at a hurricane summit last week.

Friday marks the beginning of the 2018 hurricane season, which stretches from June 1 to Nov. 30, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This year, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts a 40 percent chance of a normal season, and a 35 percent chance of an above-normal season. 

Today's coastal news headlines include:

• Savannah joins growing number of Georgia municipalities suing opioid makers
• First stand-alone ER is coming to South Carolina's Lowcountry
• Hurricane "Cone of Uncertainty" is shrinking

In the wake of back-to-back natural disasters, insurance companies are flooded with claims for destroyed property. For many, there's doubt about the willingness and ability of those insurance providers to handle the millions of dollars in damage. We sit down with Carrie Teegardin, an investigative reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, to discuss her reporting as part of our occasional series, “AJC Investigates.” 

Hotels across the South are booking up, as people leave the coast ahead of Hurricane Irma.

All it takes is a quick look at any of the online booking sites to see. Georgia’s hotel rooms are sold out. Brigette Lee is the director of sales of the Holiday Inn on the north side of Macon, Georgia. She says people leaving the South Carolina barrier islands beat Floridians to the punch by looking for rooms as long ago as last Friday.