Matthew Just Off The Florida Coast
Dangerous and deadly Hurricane Matthew continues to raise havoc along the Florida coastline this morning. The storm is currently a category 3 storm. It's motion is along the National Hurricane Center's projected track. This motion will carry the system parralell to the Florida coastline through out the day today. The hope is the center of circulation will stay far enough off shore that the storm's most damaging winds will remain over water.
As of 4 AM this is what the Hurricane Center is reporting.
LOCATION...28.2N 80.0W
This is about 40 miles east southeast of Cape Canaveral or about 90 miles southeast of Daytona Beach. The radar scan out of Melbourne Florida shows the eye wall and circulation of the storm quiet vividly.
The maximum sustained winds of Matthew were clocked at 120 mph. This makes the storm a category 3 system on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The center of the system was moving to the north northwest at 13 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward from the center of circulation about 60 miles.
Tropical forecast models are in agreement on the path of Matthew over the next 24 to 48 hours. After that time frame there is some divergence in the track the system will take. Some of the models carry the system out to sea. Others curve the system back around in a loop toward the northern Bahamas. Regardless of track almost all models agree the system will weaken significantly by early next week.