US braces as Hurricane Michael nears Category 4

Residents of Florida’s northern gulf coast are facing one of the most serious weather events in decades, as Hurricane Michael continues to gather strength over the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday evening Michael's peak winds rose to 125mph, The US National Hurricane Centre reports, and the storm was “getting much better organised” and is now forecast “to be near Category 4 strength when it makes landfall.”

Florida’s Panhandle, “from Pensacola to Apalachicola, and its Big Bend area” are the “zones of greatest concern”, The Washington Post says, as the storm continues to move north at around 12mph.

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The “lightly populated Big Bend area” — the crook of Florida's elbow — “could see up to 12 feet [3.5 metres] of storm surge”, the LA Times says.

More than 140,000 people are already under mandatory evacuation orders, with the storm expected to make landfall around midday today local time, leaving local residents with minimal time to secure their homes against the storm before leaving the area.

Oil prices surged briefly as news of Hurricane Michael’s strengthening threatened a number of oil and gas fields operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm is currently tracking away from the area with the greatest oil and gas production density – however, industry website oilprice.com reports that the hurricane currently has the potential to limit oil production by more than 320,000 barrels per day.