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Hurricane Matthew
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For other storms of the same name, see List of storms
named Matthew.

Hurricane Matthew was an extremely powerful

Atlantic hurricane which caused catastrophic
damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as
widespread devastation in the southeastern United
States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane since
Hurricane Stan in 2005, and the first Category 5
Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007, Matthew was
the thirteenth named storm, fifth hurricane and
second major hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic
hurricane season. It caused extensive damage to
landmasses in the Greater Antilles, and severe
damage in several islands of the Bahamas which
were still recovering from Joaquin, which had
pounded the archipelago nearly a year earlier.
Matthew also approached the southeastern United
States, but stayed just offshore, paralleling the
Florida coastline.

Hurricane Matthew

Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)

Hurricane Matthew shortly after peak intensity just

north of Colombia early on October 1

Formed September 28, 2016

Dissipated October 10, 2016
(Extratropical after October 9)

Highest winds 1-minute sustained: 165

mph (270 km/h)
Lowest pressure 934 mbar (hPa); 27.58 inHg

Fatalities 603 total

Damage $16.47 billion (2016 USD)
(Costliest in Haitian history)
Areas affected Windward Islands, Leeward
Antilles, Venezuela,
Colombia, Greater Antilles
(Jamaica, Hispaniola,
Puerto Rico, Cuba),
Lucayan Archipelago (Turks
and Caicos Islands, The
Bahamas), Southeastern
United States, Atlantic
Canada

Part of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season

History
Meteorological history

Effects

Florida

Haiti

Other wikis

Commons: Matthew images

Originating from a tropical wave that emerged off

Africa on September 22, Matthew developed into a
tropical storm just east of the Lesser Antilles on
September 28. It became a hurricane north of
Venezuela and Colombia on September 29, before
undergoing explosive intensification, ultimately
reaching Category 5 intensity on October 1 with
peak 1-minute sustained winds of 165 mph. This
strength was attained at just 13.4°N latitude – the
lowest latitude ever recorded for a storm of this
intensity in the Atlantic basin, breaking the record
set by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.[1] Matthew weakened
slightly and fluctuated in intensity while making a
northward turn toward the Greater Antilles,
remaining a strong Category 4 hurricane as it made
its first landfall over Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula early
on October 4, and then a second one in Cuba later
that day. Matthew weakened somewhat but re-
intensified as it tracked northwest, making landfall in
the northern Bahamas. The storm then paralleled
the coast of the southeastern United States over the
next 36 hours, gradually weakening while remaining
just offshore before making its fourth and final
landfall over the Cape Romain National Wildlife
Refuge near McClellanville, South Carolina as a
Category 1 hurricane on the morning of October 8.
Matthew re-emerged into the Atlantic shortly
afterward, eventually completing its transition into
an extratropical cyclone as it turned away from Cape
Hatteras, North Carolina on October 9. The
remnants of Matthew continued to accelerate
towards Canada where it was absorbed by a cold
front.[2]

Widespread effects were felt from Matthew across

its destructive path, however, the most significant
impacts were felt in Haiti, with US$2.8 billion in
damage and 546 deaths, making Matthew the worst
disaster to affect the nation since the 2010
earthquake. The combination of flooding and high
winds disrupted telecommunications and destroyed
extensive swaths of land; around 80% of Jérémie
sustained significant damage. Four people were
killed in Cuba due to a bridge collapse, and total
losses in the country amounted to US$2.58 billion,
most of which occurred in the Guantánamo
Province. Passing through the Bahamas as a major
hurricane, Matthew spread damage across several
islands. Grand Bahama was hit directly, where most
homes sustained damage in the townships of Eight
Mile Rock and Holmes Rock. Preparations began in
earnest across the southeastern United States as
Matthew approached, with several states declaring
states of emergencies for either entire states or
coastal counties; widespread evacuations were
ordered for extensive areas of the coast because of
predicted high wind speeds and flooding, especially
in the Jacksonville Metropolitan Area. In Florida, over
1 million lost power as the storm passed to the east,
with 478,000 losing power in Georgia and South
Carolina. While damage was primarily confined to
the coast in Florida and Georgia, torrential rains
spread inland in the Carolinas and Virginia, causing
widespread flooding.

Meteorological history

Preparations

Impact

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References

External links

Last edited 30 minutes ago by CastJared

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