UPDATE | Hurricane Michael now near Category 4

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Michael has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph as it heads toward the Florida Panhandle, and weather forecasters predict it could be be near a Category 4 when it hits landfall Wednesday afternoon.

5:21 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A fast and furious Hurricane Michael sped toward the Florida Panhandle today with 110 mph winds and a potential storm surge of 12 feet, giving tens of thousands of people precious little time to get out or board up.

Drawing energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico with every passing hour, the storm was expected to blow ashore about midday Wednesday near Panama City Beach, along a lightly populated stretch of fishing villages and white-sand spring-break beaches.

While Florence took five days between the time it turned into a hurricane and the moment it rolled into the Carolinas, Michael gave Florida what amounted to two days' notice. It developed into a hurricane Monday, and by Tuesday, more than 140,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders.

"We don't know if it's going to wipe out our house or not," Jason McDonald, of Panama City, said as he and his wife drove north into Alabama with their two children, ages 5 and 7. "We want to get them out of the way."

Coastal residents rushed to board up their homes and sandbag their properties against the hurricane, which was speeding northward at 12 mph.

As of 2 p.m. EDT, Michael had winds of 110 mph, just below a Category 3 hurricane, and was getting stronger as it moved over Gulf waters in the mid-80s. Its hurricane-force winds extended up to 35 miles from its center.

1:07 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — At least 120,000 people along the Florida Panhandle were ordered to clear out on Tuesday as Hurricane Michael rapidly picked up steam in the Gulf of Mexico and closed in with winds of 110 mph and a potential storm surge of 12 feet.

Beach dwellers rushed to board up their homes and sandbag their properties against the fast-moving hurricane, which was expected to blow ashore around midday Wednesday along a relatively lightly populated stretch of coastline.

The speed of the storm — Michael was moving north 12 mph (19 kph) — gave many people a dwindling number of hours to prepare or flee before being caught up in damaging wind and rain.

“Guess what? That’s today,” National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said. “If they tell you to leave, you have to leave.”

By 11 a.m., Michael had winds of 110 mph, just below a major Category 3 hurricane, and was getting stronger, drawing energy from Gulf waters in the mid-80s.

The hurricane’s effects will be felt far from its eye.

Forecasters said Michael’s tropical storm-force winds stretched 370 miles across, with hurricane-strength winds extending up to 35 miles from the center.

Aja Kemp, 36, planned to ride out the storm in her mobile home in Crawfordville. She worked all night stocking shelves at a big-box store that was closing later Tuesday, then got to work securing her yard.

Kemp said the bill totaled over $800 when she and her family fled Hurricane Irma’s uncertain path last year.

“I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money,” she said. “We’ve got supplies to last us a week. Plenty of water. I made sure we’ve got clean clothes. We got everything tied down.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned that the “monstrous hurricane” was just hours away, and his Democratic opponent for the Senate, Sen. Bill Nelson, said a “wall of water” could cause major destruction along the Panhandle.

“Don’t think that you can ride this out if you’re in a low-lying area,” Nelson said.