Hurricane Michael, the strongest storm to hit Florida in a quarter century and the third-most powerful ever to strike the U.S. mainland, roared into the state's Gulf coast on Wednesday with tree-snapping winds and towering waves that flooded whole beach towns. Michael, whose rapid intensification as it churned north over the Gulf of Mexico caught many by surprise, made landfall early in the afternoon near Mexico Beach, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Panama City in Florida's Panhandle region, with top sustained winds reaching 155 miles per hour (249 kph).
