Unexpectedly, Michael began to rapidly intensify on October 19 while in extratropical transition. Later that day, a ship report in the eastern eyewall reported a minimum central pressure of and maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h (100 mph), making Michael a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. The sudden intensification was determined to have been as a result of baroclinic effects as it interacted with an incoming trough, which provided additional energy to counter the general weakening of hurricanes while in the high latitudes over sea-surface temperatures around . At 2300 UTC on October 19, shortly after completing its transition to an extratropical cyclone, Michael made landfall near Parsons Harbour, Newfoundland with winds of 155 km/h (100 mph). The extratropical system gradually weakened as it tracked across Newfoundland on October 20, and slowed down considerably with the presence of the trough. The storm was absorbed by another extratropical low just north of Newfoundland that afternoon.