Governor Rick Scott has been emphatic at all his news conferences today, saying, “People are going to die.” And now, I am hearing that forecasters are pointing out that in the 118-year history of weather forecasting, there has never been a storm this unusual or this dangerous.
The latest advisory from the NHC at 5 p.m. EDT said Matthew was located 100 miles east-southeast of West Palm Beach, moving northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) with sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph). Matthew’s minimum central pressure is now 938 mb (27.70 inches).
As the storm moved north this evening, Matthew stayed offshore about 100 miles, sparing the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas from the strongest winds. Patients in two beachfront hospitals and a nursing home in Daytona have been evacuated to safer locations and Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld closed Thursday afternoon, according to Fox News.
It cannot be stressed enough, but storm surge is extremely dangerous with this storm. We have already seen the devastation surge plus big waves on top of the surge did in Haiti and now, the Bahamas. We’re talking a storm surges along the coast of Florida and on up to South Carolina reaching from 3 to 5 feet and from 7 to 11 feet or more in Sebastian Inlet, Florida, to Edisto Beach, South Carolina, including, portions of the St. Johns River.
When you add the swells and waved on top of the surge, we’re talking about a wall of water 20 feet coming inland. To the people who have ignored orders to evacuate, the Governor of Florida and emergency officials, including police departments have already said that during the storm, they will not be able to respond to any calls for help in evacuating people. They point out that everyone has been warned, numerous times.
