SUNSHINE STATE COULD BE “UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS …”
The latest update for Hurricane Matthew is pretty close to a worst-case scenario for the Sunshine State …
Unlike storms that barrel inland at a specific location, this category four monster is poised to make a potentially devastating run up Florida’s east coast beginning late Thursday and lasting through the early morning hours on Saturday.
“This is going to kill people,” Florida governor Rick Scott said of the storm, urging residents to “evacuate, evacuate, evacuate.”
The National Weather Service issued a similarly dire warning, telling Florida residents the storm could render their state “uninhabitable for weeks.”
Matthew is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour as it marches toward Florida – with hurricane-force winds extending outward sixty miles from its center.
“Some additional strengthening is possible,” forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned.
Take a look at the storm’s latest forecast window (as of the 11:00 a.m. EDT advisory on Thursday) …
(Click to enlarge)
(Via NOAA)
And its latest forecast track …
(Click to enlarge)
(Via NOAA)
As bleak as things look for Florida, the picture continues to improve for South Carolina and North Carolina – with models showing the storm weakening and heading out to sea as it moves up the coast into the weekend.
Nonetheless, S.C. governor Nikki Haley is continuing to urge the 1.1 million residents who live along the Palmetto State’s 187-mile coastline to evacuate immediately.
Thus far only 175,000 people have heeded Haley’s warning …
(Banner image via iStock)
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