Just released from Orlando Sentinel. I know sometimes these links are hard to open. Has some good info.
Hurricane Matthew weakens slightly, will strengthen before hitting Florida
Orlando Sentinel
Hurricane Matthew is taking aim at Florida, leading to widespread evacuations, school and government closings, flight cancellations and the fear of widespread damage.
As of Wednesday night, forecasters predicted that it would scrape Florida's east coast late Thursday night, and could make landfall in northern Brevard County. If it doesn't make landfall, it will only be a few miles offshore, said
Jerry Combs, a meteorologist with
National Weather Service in Melbourne.
At 8 p.m., the Category 3 storm had weakened slightly with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was heading northwest at 12 mph. It was expected to intensify overnight before it targets Florida's coast.
Most of Central Florida remained under a Hurricane Warning Wednesday, but Lake and Polk Counties were under a Tropical Storm warning.
"The fact that it's getting closer means we're going to be targeted by the strongest winds, which could be catastrophic," said WOFL-Fox 35 Meteorologist Brooks Tomlin.
Gov. Rick Scott said Hurricane Matthew could lead to the biggest evacuation in the state ever, "because it's unusual for [for a storm] to go along the coast and not know where or if direct impact might hit."
Tropical weather cone of uncertainty
Matthew has been on a path of destruction, bringing life-threatening rain and wind to impoverished Haiti and then Cuba. At least 16 deaths are blamed on the powerful storm in the Caribbean so far, five of them in Haiti.
The last Category 3 storm to hit Florida was Wilma in 2005; it caused $21 billion in damage and left people without power for a week.
All Central Florida public schools, universities and colleges will be closed Thursday and Friday. At the University of Central Florida, officials at the 63,000-student school urged students to leave campus if they could do so safely but offered shelter options as well.
Coastal communities were bracing for the worst.
Scott has been traveling the state and talking with officials from each county about potential impacts. He said it's important for people not to focus on the storm's path because it could change in an instant. Instead, he said residents should be preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.
"If Matthew directly impacts Florida, there will be massive destruction we haven't seen in years," he said.
Shopping and gas
Shoppers in Central Florida were scrambling to get supplies and gas, but some hit roadblocks.
Lines to check out were backed up down the isles at the College Park
Publix on Edgewater Drive in Orlando.
Jenna Pagnotti was at the Target on Colonial Drive at Maguire Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon looking for water and non-perishable food, but found the bread aisle nearly empty and the store completely out of bottled water.
She said being an Orlando native, she should've known to start shopping earlier before the hysteria started. She ended up buying hamburger buns for peanut butter and jelly, and Powerade.
"I wasn't freaking out, but now that it's a Category 4," she said, "I start preparing at a Category 3."
There were also empty shelves at the Publix on Colonial Drive near downtown Orlando. Shoppers were fighting for parking spots and store employees couldn't restock water fast enough.
Supermarkets and other retailers often run low on supplies before major storms in Florida, said Florida Retail Federation spokesman James Miller.
"It's good that people are prepared, but stores will be back up and running after whatever storm comes through," he said. "They should have plenty of supplies then."
Apopka's Danny Davenport went to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market with hopes of restocking his cupboards before the storm.
What he found was aisles full of shoppers but short on the kinds of food he needs.
"They don't have anything for bread," said Davenport. "My wife is coming home from the hospital with our new baby today, so I wanted to get things taken care of. That didn't work very well."
Gas stations saw motorists filling tanks and gas cans, with some locations exhausting their supplies. Prices had remained flat to start the say, according to
AAA's average price for Metro Orlando, but the travel association said earlier this week that a steep rise in demand could push prices higher.
The run on supplies also strained some gas stations.
"It looks like there have been shortages at a few stations, but it's not because of an overall supply problem. Some stations are just getting a lot of demand all at once,"
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.
A spokeswoman for Racetrac confirmed that.
"A few stations have run out of gas here and there, but it's not a widespread thing. We are getting stations refueled pretty quickly," said Karissa Bursch at Racetrac.
Transportation
State transportation and Central Florida Expressway Authority officials stopped all construction to keep roads clear, and tolls have been suspended in affected areas of the state.
Orlando International Airport said it was expecting airlines to begin canceling flights Thursday and into Friday. Orlando Sanford International Airport is shutting down at 10 a.m. Thursday.
SunRail's last train will operate at 2 p.m. Thursday, Orlando Mayor
Buddy Dyer said.
Public safety and services
Dyer also said the Orlando Police Department has put its officers at high alert and equipped them to respond during and after the storm.
"They have chainsaws, generators and bottled water so that OPD operations can continue seamlessly," Dyer said.
Roseann Harrington, Orlando Utilities Commission vice president, said utility crews will work as normal until wind speeds become hazardous, then will wait out the storm. It could be 48 hours before OUC is able to even estimate when power will be restored to all customers, she said.
"We ask for your patience," Harrington said. "This is going to be a slow-moving storm. It's going to be large and hover over us for a while."
Tourism and entertainment
SeaWorld announced it will close early Thursday and that it will be shut down all day Friday, while
Legoland says it will close Friday. Other major theme parks had not announced plans as of Thursday evening, although Disney started moving visitors out of its campground and two small waterfront lodging areas.
Some hotels began offering discounted rates to evacuees seeking shelter from the storm. Visit Florida, which markets the state's tourism, added a sortable list of "emergency accommodations" to its website.
Laura Kimble drove to Orlando from New Jersey with her parents and her son. She visits Florida annually in October, she said, and this year, she's staying at a resort on Universal Orlando property, attending
Halloween Horror Nights and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, a special event at Magic Kingdom.
She and her family decided to stay in town.
"If we end up stuck in the room, we get stuck in the room," Kimble said.
Garth Brooks' Friday concert has been moved to 3 p.m. Saturday at
Amway Center. The country music superstar also will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The 3 p.m. Sunday show was originally scheduled for Thursday.
A decision on Come Out With Pride Orlando's Saturday events will be made Thursday morning after discussions with local officials, organizers said. The parade, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, is expected to draw at least 150,000.
But other Come Out With Pride events will not happen. The official launch party at the Abbey is off Thursday night. Hamburger Mary's has canceled its Church Street Block Party on Friday. The performers can't get here from other cities, said Hamburger Mary's owner Mike Rogier, who added that he hopes to reschedule.
Spooky Empire says it will go on Friday through Sunday at the Orange County Convention Center.
The Winter Park Autumn Art Festival has been canceled and will not be rescheduled. The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and City of Winter Park made the festival announcement Wednesday afternoon. They cited "the massive amount of planning and logistics" for not staging the event later. The festival had been set for Saturday and Sunday in Central Park.
Visitors in Cocoa Beach fled west for refuge, leaving the island city strangely quiet. Burger joints, nail shops, souvenir stores and hotels were closed, many clad in plywood or armored in metal shutters.
"The boss said he wants everybody out of here," said John Knox, manager of a 120-room Quality Inn.
There were plenty who refused to budge.
"I've lived here my whole life and never run from a storm yet," said Jimmy Michaels, 66. "The storm's going to fizzle out."
The White Rose shopping center where State Road 520 meets the ocean mirrored the rest of Cocoa Beach. Most of the dozens of shops and restaurants were closed, but not the Old Fish House Restaurant.
Owner Ralph Roderere said he decided not to shutter his storefront restaurant: "The two previous owners put up plywood twice and they said it was all for nothing."
Evacuations
More than 1.5 million Floridians were in an evacuation zone because of the hurricane.
Brevard County's barrier islands, including Merritt Island, are under a mandatory evacuation order that began at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Port Canaveral also issued an evacuation order for all cruise and cargo ships, fishing boats, and businesses and tenants at Jetty Park. The Disney Dream was rerouted to Fort Lauderdale and Carnival Cruise lines just dropped its last cruise passengers off and moved out fast to avoid the storms.
Those living in low-lying areas and on the barrier islands in Volusia County are also being told to evacuate. Bridges from the beach to the mainland will be shut down and guarded by deputies starting Thursday at sundown.
Bridges in Volusia will not be reopened until the Florida Department of Transportation inspects them to ensure they are structurally safe to be reopened, so no one, including emergency crews will be able to use them.
"Once the storm hits, we cannot put our first responders at risk to save your life," Scott said.
Scott said residents should not wait to prepare for the life-threatening storm. He also urged residents in evacuation zones to leave sooner rather than later.
Scott said there are about 100 shelters ready to open across the state.
"This is a dangerous storm and it is never too early to evacuate," Scott said during one of several news conferences Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
sallen@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417
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Orlando Sentinel
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