Craig, take a look at this. This eye is about anywhere from 10 to 20 miles wide, and these are these Barrier Islands. This storm literally has the capability, the possibility of changing the geography of the coast of florida. We could be talking about some of these Barrier Islands actually disappearing under this storm. And of course, you can see as it comes in, we always have to worry, especially to the east of the eye for tornados. We have a wide swath of tornado watches from panama city up into albany, georgia, valdosta, all the way down just to the northwest of tampa, florida. Heres what weve got as far as the latest. It is a category 4 storm. It is now 60 miles south, southwest of panama city. 45 Miles Per Hour winds. Its moving now north, northeast at 14, so its forward speed picking up a little bit. At that rate, this may very well just go to the east of panama city, but make no mistake. It is still a massive system. Just to put this in perspective, if this were a tornado it would be an ef 3 tornado about five to ten miles wide. Thats the kind of devastation this possibly has. It will make landfall sometime between, id say, 1 00 and 4 00 this afternoon as a category 4. Its still a category 2 this evening into southwestern georgia, continuing as a 2 right along the georgia, South Carolina coast and tropical system moving out by friday morning. The biggest impact, storm surge. Thats where we have the greatest loss of life and destruction. Were talking inundation of coastal locations. A 9 to 13 foot storm surge. That is massive. To put it in more perspective, as the winds push that wall of water onshore, were talking three feet is about right on your porch level. Six feet is just about im six feet. Im less than six feet. Im 57. Now im covered. Nine feet goes to the second floor of a home and can push miles inland. Were also going to see an impact from the winds. Wind gusts of 100 Miles Per Hour or better just near the eye of the storm. Thats going to mean significant Power Outages from panama city down to tampa, brunswick, charleston, all the way up into wilmington through tomorrow and into friday, and of course the rain. Were talking about heavy rain for the coast and inland. Flash flood watches are going to be issued now. Weve got isolated totals of up to 12 inches of rain. We continue, craig, to see these rapid intensification storms. Again, people dont want to necessarily believe this. This is the effect of climate change. Were not talking about were not talking about an increase in the number of storms, but were talking about the increase. These storms keep rapidly intensifying in a matter of 24 hours, and its very hard to protect against anything like that. I remember during the last storm one of the concerns was the timing of landfall as it related to high tide. Right. This could be rather significa significant. The high tide along this part of the coast is going to be later in the evening, later in the afternoon into the evening. So as that happens, were going to see that storm surge, but were also going to see those winds coming around, back and around that system, and then theres a secondary storm surge that would come in. So this high tide around apalachicola, 6 10 tonight, 10 30 around panama city. Once that system moves through, theyre not out of the woods as far as storm surge is concerned. When was the last time we saw a storm like this headed towards . Never. There has never been a category 4 storm to hit the Florida Panhandle. This is unprecedented. For the people who decided to wait this out, bad idea. Very bad idea. At this point, i know well get another update in a few hours, theres no reason to believe this is a storm that is going to weaken . And even if it does, lets say it does, it goes from a 4 to a 3 or a weak 4, thats still a massive storm system with an incredible storm surge and still the destructive power of those winds. Lets say they drop down to 130 Miles Per Hour, i mean, that still can cause massive devastation. Al roker, thank you so much. We were just talking about apalachicola, Gabe Gutierrez is in apalachicola where the waters, as i understand it, are already starting to rise there . Is that right . Reporter yeah, hi, craig, were really starting to see the raw pour of Hurricane Michael. A short time ago i was here on water street the water was rising. We had to leave that area, and they expect the storm surge to be potentially catastrophic. Behind me is the apalachicola river. Even in the last half hour or so, this area where were standing was mostly dry. You can now see the water really start to pick up. Were about to move here to higher ground. Authorities here say if you havent gotten out at this point, it is too late. They figure that this is going to get progressively worse over the coming hours. Weve already seen the wind and the rain really start to pick up here. Again, as youve been talking about, craig, and as al has been mentioning, the potential for this deadly storm surge, at least nine feet expected here in apalachicola could be made worse by the tide later on today. But hundreds of thousands of people in florida ordered to evacuate. We spoke with the mayor yesterday, he estimated about half of his town decided to stay, but again, apalachicola, Historic Town here in the Florida Panhandle. At this point its a ghost town. Youve seen a few people that decided to ride it out. As conditions get worse, it is going to erode. Theyre going to be impassable. Earlier you mentioned that your hotel had been evacuated. Are you guys okay now . Reporter we decided to evacuate because our hotel was on the water. Its three floors. We could have stayed if we had decided if we had decided to do so, but we decided to leave because it was starting to get cut off. We do know some people did decide to stay, decided to ride out the storm there. Basically a lot of the businesses here in the downtown, theyre boarded up. Theyve sandsandbagged. The back of the hotel was a little further inland, and once the rain, the wind rather, starts to pick up here as the storm officially makes landfall in the next few hours, we plan to ride it out there. As you can see, the water here is really starting to get rough, and the waters really starting to kick in to the downtown, potentially damaging all of the businesses in this historic area, craig. Gabe, be safe and make sure the crews safe as well. Just west of gabe, nbcs Mariana Atencio in port st. Joe, florida. What are conditions like there ahead of this thing . Reporter craig, im about 30 minutes northwest of where dave is, as you said, and you can just see the conditions start to deteriorate by the hour. We just drove up here from cape sandblast. Security over there, the cops basically told us we had to get out of that area for security concerns. Driving around youre already starting to see debris. Youre starting to see those trees topple. Because this storm has a sort of ridge, its a river of fastmoving water, especially when youre talking about wind gusts of 40 and 50 Miles Per Hour, and thats why were going to start to get the effects of that storm here in this area about an hour south of panama city where its likely to make landfall from one to four p. M. Today. I want you to look at this water behind me. That is st. Joseph bay, and further on out is the gulf of mexico. The storm is going to come in through there. Were going to start to see that storm surge potentially up to 14 feet, something unprecedented in this area. When you look behind me here, this is the marina here in port st. Joe. You can already start to see many of the docks pretty much under water already, and they are a couple of feet high, craig, and were still hours away from this thing making landfa landfall. Gabe told ryou he spoke to the mayor of port st. Joe. Ive been on the phone with him all morning as well. He told me the hospital closed at 5 00 p. M. Yesterday. There is no shelter in the area, and hes very concerned that people did not evacuate in time because, frankly, people in this area, they talk about storms like opal in 1985 or kate in 1985, opal in 1995, excuse me. Theyre not used to seeing Something Like this. This is unprecedented and could leave as the governor has said, many of the areas in the panhandle unrecognizable after it passes. Well come back to you in a bit as well. Lets go a little farther west along the panhandle coastline to mike thomas. He is the mayor of Panama City Beach. Mayor thomas comes to us by phone now. Mayor, what can you tell us about conditions right now . What can you tell us about preparations underway . Well, all the preparations that could be made are already made, but the conditions are worsening some. Were getting quite a bit of wind now. The surf is amazing. Ive been here all my life, and ive never seen the water hit the end of the pier the way its doing. Its high out there, and its going to make a mess before were finished with this. I understand that youre actually standing on a pier . No, im out here by it. Im not quite that stupid. Im dumb but not that bad. Did people in the city heed the call to evacuate . Not as many as i would have wished. There are quite a few people here still. Thats what i was doing, riding through the neighborhoods looking and seeing what kind of cars. Weve got quite a few people. Were fortunate that were high enough in a lot of areas that ive ridden through, but this wind is going to be a problem. Were going to have a mess. Im afraid were all going to get a lot of damage, but weve been damaged before, and well build back. Whats the chief concern right now, mayor, there in Panama City Beach of the concerns that you have . And i know you mentioned the water and the surge. Whats the number one concern right now . Well, there are a lot more people than i thought would be. And were just in another hour or two, these winds are going to get where we cant send people out to help them. Somebody has some medical problems or something, were just not going to put our people in danger. The governor has done a magnificent job preparing around us, and theyve got a lot of equipment around already to come in and help, but while this is going on, theres not anything you can do except just be safe best you can. Just wait and pray . Theres a lot of that going on in this community right now, and ive had a lot of calls from people that have been through this before, other government officials from other areas offering help and understanding. If youre going to live in a beautiful place, theres always some kind of problem. Even now, im on the beach here behind the motel looking at some things, and this has got to be one of the most beautiful sites in the world. Its just a shame that its so destructive. Mayor michael thomas. I know youve got a lot to do. Ill let you get back to it there. Mayor michael thomas. Well check in with you a little bit later as well. The mayor of Panama City Beach there on the phone. Much more to come on this storm as the Florida Panhandle braces for what is shaping up to be an historic impact. Veteran storm reporter Kerry Sanders, you just saw him there getting set up. He is going to join us live from where the storm is expected to make landfall just hours from now. Plus, trump on the stump. In his busy week of rallies, exactly who is the president who is he trying to help . And 2020 vision. Why democrats gear up for the midterms, many eyes are on the run for the white house in 2020, but does the party have the leader that it needs to funnel the bases energy into big wins . Whooo want to take your next vacation to new heights . Tripadvisor now lets you book over a hundred thousand tours, attractions, and experiences in destinations around the world like new york from bike tours, to bus tours, to breathtaking adventures, tripadvisor makes it easy to find and book Amazing Things to do. So you can make your next trip. Monumental read reviews check hotel prices book things to do tripadvisor you can do things like change your settings, learn tips and tricks, troubleshoot, and even manage your account. Finding your Xfinity Username or wifi password, restarting your equipment, or paying your bill is easier than ever with x1. X1 help. Another reason to love x1. Say teach me more into your voice remote to get started. Now to politics and president trumps hyper personalized pitch for the midterms. The president hitting his second midwest stop tonight near erie,. Two broad notes, first fear of a democratic takeover. The democrats have become totally unhinged. Theyve gone crazy. No, theyve gone crazy. Now the democrats, or as some people would say, the dims, the dims. Theyve become frankly too dangerous to govern. Theyve gone wacko. Last night featured a con cincinna constant refrain that every vote is a vote for donald trump. A vote for david is a vote for me. A vote for cindy is a vote for me. Shes got tennessee values. A vote for marsha is really a vote for me. Bob vander plaats is a conservati conservati conservative commentator. If all politicals is local, bob, why is the president making this midterm a referendum on himself and on his best day he cant get his disapproval numbers under 50 . I think everybody would agree that every media source in the country is making this all about donald trump. This is a national election. Whether its about the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh or whether it be about trumps policy on trade or trump himself in his tweets, but this election in particular, the 2018 Midterm Election is all about donald trump and his leadership, so i think hes right when hes saying a vote for david young is a vote for donald trump. A vote for rod bloom is a vote for donald trump. I think everybodys seeing this as a referendum on trump. This is his midterm Progress Report so to speak. This is the headlines from New York Times today. Orourke may benefit from an unlikely group, an unlikely support group, white evangelical women, they talked to a group of evangelical women in texas. Quote, the women who are all in their 30s describe mr. Orourke as providing a stark moral contrast to mr. Trump whose policies and behavior they see as fundamentally antichristian, especially separating immigrant children from their parents at the border, banning many muslim refugees and disrespecting women. How real is the possibility that mr. Trumps personality may be costing your party some female voters . Well, theres no doubt about it. Theres a lot of times ive called him out on some of the things that he has said, things that go more to the personality versus whats being the product, whats being produced. Because if you take a look at what he has actually done as president , this midterm shouldnt even be close. I mean, with record employment, a dow jones thats skyrocketing, religious liberty, the confirmation of justices. Why not run on two of those things you just mentioned, the confirmation of two conservative justices and the economy, why not run on those two things versus a vote for Marsha Blackburn is a vote for me. Why not make it about those two things, if you know that those things are resonating with your base . Well, craig, i think youre right. As a matter of fact, i think you took the words out of my mouth. You stay focused on the issues and the things that have been accomplished under this administration, and i think thats our best chance of winning. If we make this about personality, i think thats where the democrats have an opening. They have a shot at it, but when you take a look at isis on the run, when you take a look at our alliance with the nation of israel, the confirmation of Supreme Court justices, and the list goes on and on. A lot of good things have been done in this administration, and i think if we stay focused on issues, thats an opportunity for conservatives to win on november 6th. Lets talk about nikki haleys future in the Republican Party for a moment, especially as it pertains to the president. This is something that my colleague over at cnbc wrote. Also raising eyebrows inside the white house is the fact that haley is leaving the administration before the election rather than after. That gives her the possibility of campaigning for other candidates and boosting her own Political Base before the election. Do you see the ambassador as someone whos building a new conservative brand outside that of the president s . Well, i dont know what nikki haleys goals are, but what i can tell you with our conservative base in many ways nikki haley is a rock star. We like what she did as the ambassador to the united nations. We like what she did as governor of South Carolina. She has shown herself to be a bold and courageous leader. I would say her future is a long ways from being done, and so what happens with nikki haley, nikki haley is going to have to show us those signs, give us those indications, but we like nikki haley a lot. Well leave it there. Bob, thank you. Thank you, craig. God bless you man. Right now we are watching live pictures right now from the florida gulf coast. Waves in sunset beach, florida. Hurricane michael making landfall in just a matter of hours. Were going to head back to the coast where theyre bracing for the storm amid some dire warnings from fema. Those who stick around to experience storm surge, dont typically live to tell about it, unfortunately. Coaching means making tough choices. Jim youre in but when you have high Blood Pressure and need Cold Medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. Coricidin hbp is the 1 brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your Blood Pressure. Coricidin hbp. About the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you if youre age 50 to 85 and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps .