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Friday, October 7, 2016

Matthew Pounding Florida This Morning, Eye is Forecast to Remain Offshore...

The eye of Matthew is now off the coast near Daytona Beach and is forecast to remain offshore of Florida. This will keep the very strongest winds from hitting the coast. However, wind gusts over 90 or 100 mph will still occur. Thirty foot waves have been reported at the buoy 20 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral. Very strong Category 3 storm Matthew continues to hug the coast of Florida. Vero Beach reported a 74 mph gust at 4:00 a.m. today. At 8:00 a.m. the storm is located approximately 45 miles to the east-southeast of Daytona Beach, 120 maximum sustained winds, north-northwest movement at 12 mph, central pressure 27.86 inches. The storm is forecast to move along the coast to Jacksonville and then to coastal Georgia and the Carolinas this weekend. This is the official advisory from the National Hurricane Center:

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Matthew was located near latitude 28.9 North, longitude 80.3 West. Matthew is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north is expected tonight or Saturday. 
On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will be moving near or over the east coast of the Florida peninsula through tonight, and near or over the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Matthew is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to be a category 3 hurricane as it moves near the coast of Florida today. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km). Cape Canaveral recently reported and wind gust to 97 mph (155 km/h), and Daytona Beach reported a wind gust of 67 mph (110 km/h). The latest minimum central pressure reported by the reconnaissance aircraft was 944 mb (27.86 inches).
Winds increase rapidly in elevation in a tropical cyclone. Residents in high-rise buildings should be aware that the winds at the top of a 30-story building will be, on average, about one Saffir-Simpson category higher than the winds near the surface. Tropical storm conditions are expected in the tropical storm warning area in the Carolinas tonight and Saturday.
STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge, the tide, and large and destructive waves will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. 
The water could reach the following heights above ground if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide... Sebastian Inlet, Florida, to Edisto Beach, South Carolina, including portions of the St. Johns River...7 to 11 ft Edisto Beach to South Santee River, South Carolina...4 to 6 ft Jupiter Inlet to Sebastian Inlet, Florida...4 to 6 ft South Santee River, South Carolina, to Cape Fear, North Carolina...2 to 4 ft
 
George Wright is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist for Wright Weather Consulting, LLC. Visit our website at WrightWeather.com. Follow George Wright on Twitter @gwweather.