By DAVE DOWNEY

Since Michael just became a tropical disturbance in the Western Caribbean a little more than a week ago, the news media as a whole did an incredibly good job covering the track of Michael from the Yucatan to the Florida Peninsula.

Although it did take most outlets a little longer than it should’ve to take notice of the potential track of the storm and a possible landfall on the U.S. mainland, coverage from Sunday through Thursday was spot on in providing clear and accurate information.

The storm is now making its way toward the Atlantic Ocean Friday as during its transition to a post-tropical cyclone with winds gusting at 65 m.p.h., according to the National Hurricane Center.

More than half a million customers in Virginia are without power.

Another million customers were without power across Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Florida, where the storm first made landfall and flattened some coastal  communities in the Panhandle.

Hardest hit were Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach, where both sides of the eye wall came ashore.

The official death toll is up to 11 persons now, but it is almost assuredly going to rise once officials reach the hardest hit areas near the Florida Gulf Coast.