We are a few hours from Landfall. This is getting too real. Here is what we know.
Gulf side First:
Some elevated water levels and minor storm surge is expected along the Gulf Coast due to strong onshore winds developing Friday. Radar shows Matthew has concentric eyewalls. The inner eye (very intense!) will collapse on itself over the next few hours, while the outter eyewall will take over and a larger eye will form. This is called an Eyewall Replacement Cycle and is only seen on the most mature and intense hurricanes. There could be some weakening, but Matthew is still expected to be a major hurricane on or near the Florida coast late tonight and Friday morning. Fluctuations in intensity during a IRC are impossible to predict. Don't worry about the "loop around" or (Matthew 2.0 as Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay calls it) next week. It will be a much weaker system with enormous amounts of dry air and wind shear over the state.
We also have a Tropical Storm out at sea named Nicole that has been upgraded to a Hurricane.
We are experiencing power outages already starting up and down the coast. CAT 4 expected to come ashore and looks like it will make landfall between Melbourne and Jacksonville. I suppose it depends on how long it lingers right off coast.
The Hurricane death toll climbs to 264 in Haiti. We have no idea what we are facing here in Florida and up the eastern coast northwards.
The storm is closing in on Florida and wind speed at present is 140 MPH,
7:20 p.m. Gov. Rick Scott says, "Please stay safe. Keep listening for alerts. There may be tornadoes that come in and your radio or cell phone will give you important messages."
7 p.m. Many Pinellas County hotels have sold out, hosting Hurricane Matthew evacuees from the east coast. Read Josh Rojas' story here.
5:45 p.m. Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay says don't worry about the "loop around" next week. It will be a much weaker system.
5:30 p.m. Some folks in Volusia County plan to ride out the storm. Read the story on Orlando's News 13.
4:45 p.m. There are thousands of flight cancelations and postponements because of Hurricane Matthew. Read story here.
4:30 p.m. There are limited hotels remaining in Polk County. Click here for information and pricing.
3:30 p.m. ST. PETERSBURG - Duke Energy Florida is mobilizing 2,150 linemen and vegetation personnel to safe locations prepared to respond to outages once Hurricane Matthew reaches Florida with more as needed. Call 800-228-8485 to report outages.
3 p.m. Citrus Connection will suspend all transit service as a result of the effects on Polk County from Hurricane Matthew. All final departure times for Citrus Connection, Winter Have Area Transit, Lynx buses (Routes 416, 427 and 603) and paratransit trips will occur by 4:15 p.m. today allowing passengers to complete their trip. Citrus Connection will be shutting down for the day at 6:30 p.m. There will be no service on Friday. Service is anticipated to return on Saturday. More details will be shared as the storm passes.
2 p.m. The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center has Hurricane Matthew with sustained winds of 140 mph.
1:40 p.m. Following the most recent update from the National Hurricane Center on Hurricane Matthew, Governor Scott has activated an additional 1,000 National Guard members. 3,500 members have now been activated. This is over half of the available troops that may be activated.
1:30 p.m. President Obama today declared an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Matthew beginning on October 3, 2016, and continuing.
PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW ALL ARE FARING DURING THIS MONSTER…..