Waves crash ashore as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area on Thursday in Singer Island, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Waves crash ashore as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area on Thursday in Singer Island, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesHurricane Matthew has weakened slightly and is now a Category 3 storm, but remains a powerful and dangerous storm as it churns up the Florida coast, the National Hurricane Center says.
The most catastrophic winds of the storm are remaining just off shore. The NHC says the eyewall — where the strongest winds are — "brushed against" Cape Canaveral, generating at least two gusts of 100 mph or more.
The Center warns of a dangerous storm surge and potentially life-threatening inundation levels, in addition to the hurricane-force winds.
The official storm track forecast calls for the storm's eyewall to remain off the coastline as it travels north. But a very small deviation in the storm's track would bring the most devastating winds and rains directly onto the coastline, the NHC says. And even if the strongest winds stay out to sea, the effect of the storm surge could be catastrophic.
The Two-Way
Millions Of Coastal Residents Warned To Flee Inland As Hurricane Nears Florida
"Remain in your safe shelter!" forecasters urge anybody who remained in the Melbourne, Fla., area. The eyewall could potentially bring "a rapid onset of very destructive winds well above hurricane force!"
Coastal regions in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are in the storm's predicted path as it is projected to travel parallel to the coastline while remaining just offshore. It's projected to gradually weaken as it moves.
Ted Houston and his dog Kermit visit the beach in Palm Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Ted Houston and his dog Kermit visit the beach in Palm Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area on Thursday.
Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesMore than 429,000 Florida residents have lost power, and Florida Power & Light anticipates more outages as the storm makes its way north.
The utility warns that some customers may experience extended outages as FPL works to rebuild the grid.
Workers put up shutters at a strip mall in preparation of Hurricane Matthew in Miami, Fla., on Thursday. Some three million people on the US southeast coast faced an evacuation order. Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Workers put up shutters at a strip mall in preparation of Hurricane Matthew in Miami, Fla., on Thursday. Some three million people on the US southeast coast faced an evacuation order.
Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty ImagesAs NPR reported yesterday, millions of people were ordered or advised to head inland as state governors issued strongly-worded evacuation orders.
Thousands of flights in the region have been canceled, and Amtrak has suspended some routes. Cruise ships have changed their schedules too — in some cases, resulting in longer trips, The Associated Press reports.
Local residents take shelter at the Pedro Menendez high school in St. Augustine, Fla., on Thursday. Some 1.5 million people are under evacuation orders in Florida in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Local residents take shelter at the Pedro Menendez high school in St. Augustine, Fla., on Thursday. Some 1.5 million people are under evacuation orders in Florida in preparation for Hurricane Matthew.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty ImagesThe AP has more on the threat posed by the storm:
"Forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more.
"They said the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds — which newer buildings can withstand — but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities along a 500-mile stretch from South Florida to the Charleston, South Carolina, area.
"President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, freeing up federal money and personnel to protect lives and property."
The Two-Way
In Haiti, Slow Revelations About The Scale Of Hurricane Destruction
Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people in the Caribbean — mostly in Haiti, where the full extent of the devastation is still being evaluated.
A photo taken Tuesday shows Hurricane Matthew as seen from the International Space Station; Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins took the photo, which shows the space station's solar arrays at the upper-right corner of the image. Kate Rubins/NASA hide caption
A photo taken Tuesday shows Hurricane Matthew as seen from the International Space Station; Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins took the photo, which shows the space station's solar arrays at the upper-right corner of the image.
Kate Rubins/NASA
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