hurricanes

There's only been one other year – 2005 – that Greek names have been needed. The National Hurricane Center on Friday announced storms called Alpha and Beta have formed in the Atlantic.

Hurricane Laura rapidly intensified before it made landfall. Abnormally hot water in the Gulf of Mexico helped it gain power.

Government and nonprofit agencies work in advance of storms to create distribution networks for critical aid, but the Category 4 storm damaged key communications and transportation infrastructure.

Before Hurricane Michael, no Category 4 storm had hit the Panhandle since 1851 — when records were first kept. The storm was just below Category 5 status when it arrived.