As Hurricane Michael bombards Florida after making landfall on Wednesday, it’s already breaking records.
The hurricane is one of the most powerful storms on record to hit the U.S. mainland as especially warm water in the Gulf of Mexico led to winds of 155 mph, according to the Associated Press.
Currently at a Category 4, the massive storm is the first of its size to strike the Florida Panhandle since records began in 1851, according to The Washington Post and Weather.com.
The storm is the third strongest hurricane to make landfall on the continental U.S. as ranked by minimum sea level pressure at landfall, according to data analyzed by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a tropical scientist at Colorado State University.
The storm is also the strongest continental landfall hurricane to hit in the month of October ranked by both wind and pressure, according to Klotzbach.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said earlier Wednesday that he was “scared to death” for those who did not leave the evacuation zones.
Photos and video show rising floodwaters and dangerous wind conditions.