HAVANA, Cuba.- Hurricane Michael, which continues to strengthen over the Gulf of Mexico, could be the first body in twelve years to touch ground with category 3 in the Panhandle region of Florida, USA.

The National Hurricane Center reported that at 8 o’clock Washington local time the storm was already a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of a maximum of 5, with sustained maximum winds of 155 miles per hour and a move northward northwest to 19 Km per hour.

Forecasts indicate that the storm will make landfall over the Panhandle region of Florida this Wednesday with Category 3 and winds of 180 Km per hour.

Michael could become a potentially catastrophic event for the northeastern Gulf coast, the Office of the National Meteorological Service in Tallahassee, Fla., reported.