Category 3 Hurricane Matthew swept up eastern Florida today, delivering heavy rainfall, 160km/h gusts, and powerful waves all along the coast. The storm continues to march northward toward Georgia and South Carolina, with deadly 2m to 3m surges possible over the weekend
Image: AP
Mercifully, Matthew has stayed far enough off Florida’s coast to avoid inflicting maximal damage. Nevertheless, images of storm surge flooding have been hitting the social media feeds all day, and they are pretty dramatic.
This just speaks for itself #JaxBeach #FCNStorm pic.twitter.com/KDzz4ycLot
— Katie Jeffries (@Katie_Jeffries) October 7, 2016
A side-by-side with @jeffgoodell‘s picture of downtown St. Augustine right now. #Matthew pic.twitter.com/xgyDLmImkJ
— Zack Fradella (@ZackFradellaWx) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/AshleyANjax/status/784446576815136768
St Augustine #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/7Zbl9uRWt7
— Jeff Goodell (@jeffgoodell) October 7, 2016
Matthew is expected to weaken gradually as it churns up the coast, hitting Georgia and South Carolina with Category 2-3 force. The National Hurricane Center warns that “life threatening” surge is possible from Cocoa Beach Florida all the way up to Cape Fear, North Carolina, over the next 36 hours.
https://twitter.com/ShawSsimpsont/status/784430724514361344
New video of wave hitting my house!@WESH #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/t9lEQocCr8
— Grant Lynch (@Grant__Lynch) October 7, 2016
Getting strongest winds now in Daytona Beach. #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/K8IWRoZRB0
— Mike Lovecchio (@mikelovecchio) October 7, 2016
#HurricaneMatthew river storm surge strikes Douglas Park in Indialantic @Florida_Today #Brevard pic.twitter.com/WGDoy8KBYI
— Rick Neale (@RickNeale1) October 7, 2016
After dealing a direct and devastating blow to Haiti earlier in the week, Matthew’s hotly-anticipated US arrival might feel a bit tempered. That makes Americans lucky, but it’s important to remember that a slight course correction, or the onset of hurricane winds in conjunction with high tide, could change the coastal situation in a minute. As President Obama noted earlier today, Matthew is “still a really dangerous hurricane” and everyone in its path needs to stay vigilant.
Just take a cue from this stork.
St. Augustine zoo shelters animals in its bathrooms: https://t.co/eL2qrrQsTZ #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/N5gQ0KY90c
— Tampa Bay Times (@TB_Times) October 7, 2016