Hurricane Michael is now a Category 3 storm and a day from Gulf Coast

“You cannot hide from storm surge, so … get out if an evacuation is ordered,” he said.

Winds of tropical storm force will be felt in the area starting early Wednesday, and mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders already have been issued in at least 22 counties on the Florida Gulf Coast.

About 3.7 million people were under hurricane warnings in the Panhandle and Big Bend regions, as well as parts of southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia. Tropical storm warnings cover 8.5 million people in four states.

The main threats

The storm’s center and where it makes landfall with its destructive winds represent just one of several concerns. Among them:

• Life-threatening storm surges could slam the Florida Panhandle, Big Bend and Nature Coast, with the deadliest storm surge of possibly 9 to 13 feet expected between Mexico Beach and Keaton Beach. “That means the water will come miles in shore and could easily be over the roofs of houses,” Scott said.

• Tornadoes could spawn in the Southeast on Tuesday night into Thursday, forecasters said.

• Damaging winds are expected to rake not just Florida but also southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia. If Michael’s core comes ashore as a Category 2 or higher, it would be the strongest storm in terms of wind speed to make landfall in the country this year.

“You will see damage to infrastructure. You will see power outages,” said Jeff Byard, associate administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Office of Response and Recovery.

‘We need the residents to be leaving today’

A hurricane warning is in place from the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida.

Meanwhile, tropical storm warnings extend from Florida’s Chassahowitzka River to the Mississippi-Alabama border. Tropical storm watches are in effect in some coastal areas of Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Storm surge warnings are also in place along the Florida and Alabama coasts.

US Rep. Neal Dunn, whose district includes Panama City, urged people under evacuation orders to get out before tropical-storm-force winds arrived. He focused on islands off the coast whose bridges may close as the storm approaches.

“You haven’t got anywhere to go (if the bridges close),” he said Tuesday morning. “And then you’re riding it out in your car instead of something else. So we need the residents to be leaving today … because by this evening, those bridges are going to be in peril of being closed.”

A couple move up their beachside wedding

The hurricane forced Benny and Cindy Guinn to get married a day earlier.

The couple was supposed to get hitched Wednesday in Florida’s Panama City Beach, but Michael’s approach forced mandatory evacuations there.

“We (first) bumped it up to Tuesday night … and then we bumped it up to Tuesday morning,” Cindy Guinn said.

With an officiant standing in front of them, the couple said their vows on the beach as brisk winds brushed them.

Elsewhere at Panama City Beach, many businesses were closed and homes were boarded up.

Cars were in long lines at one of the town’s gas stations Tuesday.

Georgia, Alabama prepare for damage

In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal declared an emergency for 92 counties.

The governor’s declaration activates the state’s emergency operations plan, according to Ivey’s office.

Deaths in Central America

Michael has been lashing western Cuba as it churned toward the United States. Up to 12 inches could fall there, threatening flash floods and mudslides, the hurricane center said Tuesday.

Over the weekend, flooding related to Michael led to at least 13 deaths in the Central American countries of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, officials said.