Satellite loop of Hurricane Michael swirling off the western tip of Cuba on October 8, 2018. Image: CIRA/RAMMB
Hurricane Michael rapidly intensified on Sunday and Monday between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, and is headed for Florida's Big Bend region — likely coming ashore between Destin and Apalachicola on Wednesday — as a major Category 3 or 4 storm. Hurricane and storm surge warnings are now in effect for parts of Florida, with watches extending west into Alabama.
Why it matters: This storm presents a particularly dangerous situation for the Sunshine State, since computer models and official forecasts have trended toward a stronger hurricane. The storm's track means residents will have only a few days at most to prepare, and some may be caught unaware after a long holiday weekend.
SpaceX launched a satellite for Argentina's space agency on Sunday evening and successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket at its West Coast facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This was the company's first-ever dry-ground landing on the West Coast, at a launch pad that had previously been used by the Air Force dating back to the 1960s.
Why it matters: To date, SpaceX has been launching and recovering Falcon 9 rocket boosters at sea on the West Coast, but this was the first time it has recovered a rocket on land there.