At a glance:

• Hurricane Michael is a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph
• Located 60 miles SSW of Panama City, Florida
• Landfall expected along Florida's northeastern Gulf Coast sometime Wednesday afternoon
• Cat 4 hurricane has never made landfall in the Florida Panhandle
• Storm surge could reach 9-14+ feet in places
• Rainfall flooding is a significant threat inland into the Carolinas

Hurricane Michael has rapidly intensified. Now the question is, will it hold its strength with landfall? According to forecasters, Hurricane Michael's rapid intensification over the past two days, despite shifting winds, "defies traditional logic." Michael is expected to make history, as it will be the strongest hurricane to ever come ashore (since 1851) along the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane warnings are currently posted for the Florida Gulf coast from the Alabama/Florida border to Suwanee River, Florida, including Pensacola, Panama City, Destin and Tallahassee.

Just a year ago Hurricane Harvey was making landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Now, the projected hurricane season looks quite different, having been downgraded most recently by NOAA. It would be easy to become complacent—if not for Hurricane Lane, a Category 4 cyclone, barreling down on the Hawaiian islands. We may not see a string of hurricanes like last season, but Hurricane Lane is a reminder that it does, in fact, only take one hurricane. There’s no time like the present to learn from the past and get your operational “ducks in a row”.

Hurricane Lane barrels towards Hawaii (photo courtesy of cbsnews.com)

Almost exactly one year after Hurricane Harvey dropped 50 inches of rain on Texas, Hurricane Lane, a Category 4 cyclone, is now barreling towards the Hawaiian islands, with its outer rainbands already drenching the Big Island. Forecasters say that it’s on course to move very close to the islands, or, make landfall from Thursday through Friday. With the likelihood of a direct hit growing, authorities have urged residents to set aside two weeks worth of food and water.

There’s a scene in the movie “This is 40” where Leslie Mann turns to her husband, played by Paul Rudd, and says, “You should care more.” Frustrated by her husband’s ambivalence, Leslie makes a simple, yet fundamental statement. Like many of us, her husband doesn’t appreciate being told what to do. And therein lies the problem (not the husband, ha)—but rather that caring shouldn’t be forced, it should be inspired. Fact is, if we don’t care, we don’t grow. But, when caring is abundantly demonstrated, it becomes infectious.