VALDOSTA – Lowndes County and the surrounding areas could receive a half inch of rain and wind gusts as Hurricane Matthew barrels along the Florida and Georgia coastlines, according to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.
At 5 a.m. Friday morning the eye of Hurricane Matthew was located by NOAA Doppler weather radars and an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft near latitude 28.2 North, longitude 80.0 West. Matthew is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph, 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.
NWS forecasts a quarter or a half inch of rain Friday with winds from 15 to 20 mph and possible wind gusts of up to 30 mph.
Matthew is now 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 remain a category 3 hurricane as it moves near the coast of Florida today. Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph with higher gusts.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.
Before 5 a.m. Friday, a sustained wind of 49 mph with a gust to 74 mph was reported at Vero Beach, Florida. A sustained wind of 47 mph with a gust to 69 mph was reported at Melbourne, Florida. A NOAA buoy off Cape Canaveral recently reported a sustained wind of 65 mph with a gust to 78 mph.
Hurricane conditions are expected to first reach the hurricane warning area in Florida during the next several hours and will spread northward within the warning area through today. Tropical storm conditions will continue to spread northward in the warning area along the Florida east coast today.
Hurricane conditions are expected to spread northward in the warning area in Georgia and South Carolina tonight and Saturday with tropical storm conditions expected later today.
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.
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
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. Large waves generated by Matthew will cause water rises to occur well in advance of and well away from the track of the center.
Water levels in the northwestern Bahamas should continue to subside during the day.
There is a danger of life-threatening inundation during the next 36 hours along the Florida east coast, the Georgia coast, and the South Carolina coast from Jupiter Inlet, Florida, to South Santee River, South Carolina.
There is the possibility of life-threatening inundation during the next 48 hours from north of South Santee River, South Carolina, to Cape Fear, North Carolina.
Matthew is expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 1 to 2 inches over the northwestern Bahamas with isolated maximum storm-total amounts of 15 inches.
Matthew is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 8 to 12 inches over the Atlantic coast of the United States from central Florida to eastern North Carolina with possible isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches. This rainfall may result in flooding and flash flooding.
An isolated tornado or two is possible along the east-central Florida coast today.
Swells generated by Matthew will continue to affect portions of the north coast of Cuba and the Bahamas during the next few days, and will spread northward along the east coast of Florida and the southeast U.S. coast through the weekend. These swells will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
