It looks like Daytona Beach is where Hurricane Matthew will make its closest pass to land. Here in Miami-Dade we are expecting to see 3 – 5 inches of rain later today. We remain under a tropical storm warning.
8:00 AM: We had some rain move through around 7:15, the first of the outer bands to reach shore. We expect this continue throughout the day with more rain and wind. The eye is just south of Nassau, Bahamas, and still tracking to the northwest and aiming for the Space Coast: Melbourne, Daytona, and Cape Canaveral, with wind and rain reaching as far inland as Orlando.
If for some reason we lose power down here, don’t worry about me; I have a flashlight and canned food, and I’ll report back in when I can.
11:00 AM: More rain but no wind yet; it looks like it won’t pick up until later today.
2:00 PM: Occasional rain but still no wind. The good news is that the eye has moved north of the latitude of Miami, which means it will not come ashore here. The bad news is that we are on the “dirty” side of the circulation, which means it moves faster and carries more rain. The storm is also intensifying since it crossed the Bahamas so it’s going to really wreak havoc when it passes close to the coast up north.
5:00 PM: Nothing has changed here in this part of Miami-Dade County. No wind, an occasional shower, and even a few patches of clear sky. Based on the map, though, it is still a very strong storm and if you or anyone you know is in the hurricane warning area, follow the directions of the authorities. If they tell you to get out, get out.
Here’s a radar image from 5 PM. You can watch it live here.
We regularly lose power here for some reason. Your sister brought us a wonderful lantern she got at Walgreen’s. It has three levels of brightness – one is low enough to act as a nightlight and the brightest level is strong enough you could operate on someone by it. I’m about to buy us one, but if you can get out to the store before Matthew hits you might be glad you had it. Bottled water might not be necessary with your supply of city water, but who knows? This looks like a bad one. Global warming is stirring up the oceans and we can expect more like this in coming years.
Good idea. I have a couple of flashlights; one regular size like we had at camp and a couple of mini-lights. For now, all systems are functioning within normal parameters.