Michael while in the Caribbean Sea had a bit of a northeast path, so whether the storm crossed Cuba or went into the Gulf of Mexico, Florida was going to be hit.
The difference between crossing Cuba or entering the Gulf of Mexico was THE LENGTH OF TIME the storm was exposed to Gulf waters. If the storm crossed Cuba it would have hit land far sooner, but, it scooted into the Gulf of Mexico and immediately hit water that provided fuel from a very warm body of water. The temperature the storm ran into was 82 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit. It is not boiling hot, but, to a water storm that lives because of OCEAN TEMPERATURES/SEA TEMPERATURES, 83 degrees Fahrenheit is huge.
As Hurricane Michael began to increase it's velocity/speed the danger to life and limb grew exponentially. The storm grew in strength from Tropical Storm (TS) to Category 2 in no time. Then it was three and then as it's exposure to 84 degrees Fahrenheit it found the velocity of four and nearly a category five. The only reason it did not reach a category five was that it ran into the land that was cooler than 84 degrees and land that placed a drag on the velocity of the storm.
While bathtub temperatures feel good to tourists wading into the Gulf of Mexico waters, it is a feast of HEAT ENERGY to storms that live in ocean temperatures. Heat is energy. Earth is a highly efficient user of that energy and the storms that become hurricanes are exceptionally efficient in that Earth process.
When people are dealing with these storms crossing the Gulf of Mexico, there are huge amounts of fuel for these storms and there should never be a moment of hesitation by any citizen to MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, because, the storm has no conscience, it has efficient Earth energy.
