The system just missed making landfall in the extreme western tip of Cuba and it it fully emerged in the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Michael is expected to continue intensifying further overnight and it will likely reach Category 2 by sunrise Tuesday.
The wind shear will continue to relax Tuesday allowing Michael to reach major category 3 status.
11 a.m. Update
Michael intensifies a bit more at the 8 p.m. advisory, maximum sustained winds at 85 mph, and it moves to the north at 12 mph. The next complete advisory by the National Hurricane Center will be release at 11 p.m. Please check back for updates.
Stay a step ahead of the storm with updates, live radar and the latest forecasts: Download the free WFTV Weather app.
Michael is officially a hurricane, strengthening as it makes its way toward the Florida panhandle.
The Category 1 storm is currently producing winds of 75 miles per hour.
The track of the storm has not changed: Michael is expected to make landfall on the panhandle on Wednesday. Central Florida could see some impacts, but the worst of the storm will stay west, said Channel 9 meteorologist Brian Shields.
Stay a step ahead of the storm with updates, live radar and the latest forecasts: Download the free WFTV Weather app.
Florida State University announced Monday morning that its Tallahassee and Panama City campuses will be closed Tuesday and stay closed for the rest of the week.
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8 a.m. update
Michael remains a tropical storm, but is forecast to become hurricane later Monday.
It's expected to shift slightly west and make landfall Wednesday in the western portion of the Florida Panhandle.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and is about 120 miles east-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and 70 miles south of Cuba’s western tip. It is moving north at 7 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.