Rare ‘Extreme Tornado-like Wind Warnings’ Posted for Hurricane Michael. Here’s What That Means.

Cat-4/5 Hurricane Michael’s 190 est. mph outer bands hit Apalachicola, Fla., Panama City, Fla. and west coast of Florida, as it comes up the coast, bringing extremely high winds, storm surges and rain to areas along the coast.

Michael's Track.

Eyewall winds within major hurricanes such as Michael can produce “swaths of extreme tornado-like damage.” The onset of eyewall winds happens quickly — within a matter of minutes.

This is the strongest storm since '92/ '69 timeframe and Hurricanes Andrew/ Camille. The only Category 5 hurricanes to hit the U.S. are Andrew in 1992, Camille in 1969 and an unnamed storm in 1935. Hurricane Irma, last year, was a monster storm in the Atlantic with maximum sustained winds if 185 mph. Only one Atlantic hurricane on record, Allen in 1980, contained stronger winds, at 190 mph.

How to tell the difference between the five categories of storms and how much damage you can expect, in each one.

Find shelter in a far-interior location, as far away from any windows as possible , like a storm shelter or basement if you have one. Shards of glass launched at highway speeds can become lethal projectiles in mere seconds. Have a blanket, pillows, and/or a mattress handy at your place of shelter for extra layers of protection and comfort. Cover your face and head first, and then place the mattress atop your body to shield against potential structural failure or wall/ ceiling failure or collapse.

If you live near the coastal storm surges or in an inland area prone to freshwater inundations, and flooding you may be dealing with extreme flooding, as well. Do not enter floodwaters to escape the wind. Floodwater could be electrified or contain harmful chemicals or untreated sewage.

The extreme wind warnings was created out of necessity following confusion during Hurricane Katrina, for example. National Weather Service offices in Louisiana and Mississippi issued 11 tornado warnings, not for actual tornadoes but for high-wind spots or "dirt devils" in the track of Katrina’s fast and furious, eyewall.

Robert Ricks, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Slidell, La., was crucial in public communications, leading up to and during Katrina. He was on shift when the tornado warnings were issued for the eyewall.

“We had a visiting/ deployed meteorologist from Melbourne, Fla. that actually issued those warnings,” Ricks wrote in a 2013 email interview. “He was instrumental with the initial issuance and development of such warnings at his home office in Melbourne during Hurricanes Charley and Jeanne in 2004. It was NWS policy to issue ‘eyewall wind warnings’ that are more like hyper tornado - like wind warnings when we are dealing with Cat-3 or higher hurricanes.”

Cheryl Grabowski, Osceola County Emergency Management director at the time, was quoted by the National Weather Service describing these types of warnings as “fantastic” and a “stroke of genius for getting onto the Emergency Alert System, and staying ontop of the fast moving changes to sitrep.” The main reason the tornado warnings were favored was because they triggered. automated television, cellphone and radio interruptions through the emergency alert system. The newly minted extreme wind warning will do the same.