Friday Evening Hurricane Matthew Update

As of 7 PM CDT, Matthew is a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The eye of the storm is located 55 miles east-northeast of Jacksonville, Florida with hurricane force winds extending out up to 60 miles from the center of the storm. In the last two hours there have been multiple reports of wind gusts to 60-65 mph in the Jacksonville metropolitan area.

It is moving north at 12 mph, just off the coasts of Georgia and northeastern Florida, and is expecting to continue to move north Friday night before turning toward the northeast Saturday which will put it near or over the coast of South Carolina Saturday.

Although weakening is expected is forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to remain a hurricane until it begins to move away from the southeastern United States on Sunday.

Rainfall amounts of 8-12 inches with isolated amounts up to 15 inches are expected along with a storm surge of 4-9 feet.

The latest advisories on Matthew can be found at the National Hurricane Center website.