The center of the storm was heading for Florida at 14 mph. Matthew steadily strengthened as it moved westward and became a hurricane on September 29th. Sunday, September 25, 2016 Matthew began as a tropical wave that originated off the west coast of Africa, traveling west across the Atlantic Ocean. "We are just bracing and the winds are picking up," Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry told CNN early Friday morning. As Matthew pushes toward Florida, it is likely to remain a dangerous Category 3 or 4 … Hurricane Matthew Makes Landfall in Haiti as Category 4, Florida Braces for Hit By Char Adams Updated October 05, 2016 04:53 PM President Barack Obama has declared state of emergencies Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. About 1.1 million Floridians are under evacuation orders. Hurricane Matthew unleashed torrential rains and up to 120 mile-an-hour winds as it hugged the Florida coast Friday, after a blast through the Caribbean that reportedly left at least 400 dead in Haiti. "Do not surf. A Florida local is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew. HURRICANE Matthew will change course and score a direct hit on Florida, according to two new British weather forecasting models. Florida lashed with heavy rains and winds. Lights are out on highway A1A from the winds of Hurricane Matthew on Cocoa Beach, Florida, October 7, 2016. As of 11 p.m., ET Thursday, Matthew, a Category 4 storm, was about 125 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, Fla., winds up to 130 mph. The last storm to hit the Atlantic side of Florida was Hurricane Katrina, which struck in 2005 on its way to devastating the Gulf coast. "This is a scary storm," South Carolina Gov. REUTERS/Chris Keane - RTSR2RD, ST AUGUSTINE, FL - OCTOBER 07: Cars are seen in a flooded parking lot as Hurricane Matthew passes through the area on October 7, 2016 in St Augustine, Florida. The powerful hurricane lashes the Caribbean leaving a trail of devastation in Haiti, where at least 22 people killed. Alex Johnson is a reporter and editor for NBC News based in Los Angeles. Two men run for cover as rain ahead of Hurricane Matthew begins to fall Thursday in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Feel What It's Like to Fly into Hurricane Matthew, Florida Feels the Force of Hurricane Matthew, Braving Hurricane Matthew at a Florida bar, Watch Live: Radar Image of Hurricane Matthew. Here is what we know . The storm was the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since 2007's Hurricane Felix. Officials were bracing for Hurricane Matthew to hit Florida, as the storm was expected to regain Category 4 strength before making landfall. Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit Florida's coast on Thursday and Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. (CNN) Hurricane Michael, which barreled into the Florida Panhandle in October, was actually a Category 5 storm when it hit the coast, scientists at the National Hurricane Center said Friday. More than 1 million residents have been evacuated in Florida and more than 1 million people are experiencing power outages in the state. Evacuations were also under way in Georgia and South Carolina after Matthew, which hammered Haiti and strafed Cuba, began battering the Bahamas. Central and northern Florida have never been hit by a hurricane this strong. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images), Heavy rain and wind blow in an area near Atlantic Beach, Florida, on October 7, 2016, as hurricane Matthew approaches the area. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Stan in 2005, Matthew was the thirteenth named storm, fifth hurricane and second major hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. Florida … The dangerous hurricane had already been inflicting damage across the Caribbean, with at least seven fatalities and untold damage to homes and landscapes. Florida and other … Rick Scott warned would be "catastrophic.". Hurricane Matthew Makes Landfall in Haiti as Category 4, Florida Braces for Hit By Char Adams Updated October 05, 2016 04:53 PM Hurricane Matthew hit both Haiti and the U.S. East Coast Coast in October 2016 as a Category 4 hurricane with torrential rain, massive storm surge, and winds up to 145 mph. Hurricane Matthew Pushes North Hurricane Matthew weakened to a Category 3 storm and moved beyond the Florida Coast. LIVE BLOG: The Latest on Hurricane Matthew. The storm killed at least 478 people in Haiti, before moving on to the Bahamas and Florida. “This is about as bad as it gets,” Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, told CNN Thursday. Hurricane Matthew is a powerful storm which formed off the coast of Africa before picking up strength as it moved north of South America and into the Caribbean in … Hurricane Matthew is strengthening near the northwestern Bahamas and is expected to be a Category 4 hurricane as it approaches Florida. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images), DAYTONA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 7: A view of a collapsed roof at a gas station after Hurricane Matthew passes through on October 7, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. / AFP / Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images), National Guard units 1782 and 172 of Chester and Lancaster, South Carolina, board vehicles while deploying for duty for Hurricane Matthew service in Conway, South Carolina, U.S. October 6, 2016. Hurricane Matthew’s intensity moved from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane by the time all was said and done. Hurricane Matthew hits the US Show all 18 Hurricane Matthew, the Category 3 storm with winds reaching 120mph, has battered the Florida coast with high-powered gusts and continuous rain. Patients were being sent to hospitals in Georgia and more western parts of South Carolina, it said. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. Lights are out on highway A1A from the winds of Hurricane Matthew on Cocoa Beach, Florida, October 7, 2016. Florida authorities sounded alarms not heard in years before a weakened Hurricane Matthew brushed up the state's east coast early Friday with gusts of up to 100 mph. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images), COCOA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 07: Palm trees sway from the winds of Hurricane Matthew, October 7, 2016 on Cocoa Beach, Florida. “Matthew is likely to produce devastating impacts along portions of the east coast tonight.” Track Matthew on radar as the hurricane moves northward. It killed at least 122 people in Haiti alone. Beaufort Memorial Hospital in Beaufort, S.C., closed its emergency room and began evacuating its 62 patients Thursday. Saturday afternoon and evening: Matthew moves east, with Myrtle Beach, S.C., feeling lesser impacts. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Matthew to a Category 3 storm overnight but warned that the "eye of extremely dangerous" storm was approaching Florida. The hurricane prompted the hard-hit country to postpone a long-awaited presidential election which was scheduled for Sunday. 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