2018's Hurricane Michael upgraded to Category 5 storm

The aftermath of Hurricane Michael in 2018.

MEXICO BEACH, Fla. (NBC) – 2018’s Hurricane Michael has been upgraded to a rare Category 5 storm.

Scientists at NOAA’S National Hurricane Center have concluded that Hurricane Michael was packing 160 mile-per-hour winds when it made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida last October.

The upgrade makes Michael the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. as a Category 5 storm since hurricane Andrew in 1992 and only the fourth on record.

Michael is also the strongest hurricane landfall on record in the Florida panhandle and only the second known Category 5 landfall on the northern Gulf Coast.