Hurricane Michael upgraded to Category 5 at time of US landfall

Hurricane Michael, which barreled into the Florida Panhandle in October, has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, scientists at the National Hurricane Center said Friday. A post analysis shows the storm was stronger than originally thought, with winds at landfall estimated to be 160 mph — making Michael one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the US, according to the scientists. The storm was originally designated as a Category 4 hurricane. Michael’s deadly trail of devastation stretched from the Florida Panhandle, where it wiped away a coastal city, to the Carolinas, where it triggered flash floods that turned roads into rivers. It was responsible for 16 deaths and about $25 billion in damage in the United States. Michael was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States as a Category 5 since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The others were Camille in 1969 and the Labor Day hurricane in 1935.