Michael Weakens After Historic Slam Into Florida Panhandle

This satellite image made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Michael, center, in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 at 3:17 p.m. EDT.

NOAA / AP

Updated at 11:08 p.m. ET

The eye of Hurricane Michael is weakening as it churns across south-central Georgia. Now a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, it made landfall around midday Wednesday in the Florida Panhandle near Panama City at Category 4 strength, with winds of 155 mph.

That made Michael the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the continental U.S. in more than a quarter-century, according to the National Hurricane Center.