SOUTHEASTERN U.S. - After intensifying into a Category 2 storm this Monday, Hurricane Michael continues to intensify. The storm is expected to grow to Category 3 strength before touching down on the Florida panhandle this Wednesday—bringing surge flooding, destructive winds, and flooding rainfall.

The National Weather Service’s (NWS) Tallahassee, Florida, office issued a warning calling the storm “potentially catastrophic” and warning that “conditions [along the Florida panhandle and Big Bend coastlines] will begin to deteriorate late tonight into early Wednesday.”

Damaging winds and widespread power outages are expected along with localized flash flooding and even tornados. AccuWeather reports that mandatory evacuations are in effect throughout much of the region.

As the storm proceeds inland toward Georgia later in the week, its intensity is expected to diminish into a tropical storm and to fuel to muggy wet conditions throughout the Northeast.

“As tropical moisture spreads northward along the Eastern Seaboard, it will produce pockets of rain which can include flooding downpours later this week,” noted AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Babinski in a report.

For more on the storms progress throughout the week, keep reading AndNowUKnow.