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Hurricane Matthew (2016)

Hurricane Matthew was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 167 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 934 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 10 of the cities we track; the strongest was Hilton Head Island, SC, with a modeled peak gust of 92 mph.

Peak strength167 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
10
LandfallsFirst October 4, 2016
4
Lowest pressure
934 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Matthew’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. October 4, 2016, Category 4 at 150 mph, in Haiti
  2. October 5, 2016, Category 4 at 132 mph, in Cuba
  3. October 7, 2016, Category 4 at 132 mph, in the Bahamas
  4. October 8, 2016, Category 1 at 86 mph, about 30 miles from Charleston, SC

Modeled winds at cities (10)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Hilton Head Island, SC92 mph75 mph15 milesOct 8, 2016, 4:15 AM EDT
Myrtle Beach, SC78 mph63 mph12 milesOct 8, 2016, 2:15 PM EDT
Charleston, SC72 mph59 mph16 milesOct 8, 2016, 7:00 AM EDT
Palm Bay, FL68 mph55 mph47 milesOct 7, 2016, 4:30 AM EDT
Deltona, FL68 mph55 mph50 milesOct 7, 2016, 10:00 AM EDT
Savannah, GA66 mph54 mph39 milesOct 8, 2016, 4:00 AM EDT
Wilmington, NC62 mph51 mph30 milesOct 8, 2016, 9:15 PM EDT
Port St. Lucie, FL62 mph50 mph51 milesOct 7, 2016, 1:15 AM EDT
Jacksonville, FL58 mph47 mph61 milesOct 7, 2016, 4:30 PM EDT
Orlando, FL57 mph46 mph69 milesOct 7, 2016, 8:00 AM EDT

What happened

After hitting Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas, Matthew passed about 30 nautical miles off Florida's east coast on October 7, 2016, and its western eyewall clipped Cape Canaveral, where Kennedy Space Center stations measured gusts of 91 to 93 knots (105 to 107 mph).1 Matthew made landfall just south of McClellanville, South Carolina, at about 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on October 8 as a Category 1 hurricane with 75-knot (86 mph) winds.1

The highest surge at a U.S. tide gauge was 7.70 feet at Fort Pulaski, Georgia, followed by 6.96 feet at Fernandina Beach, Florida, 6.20 feet at Charleston and 6.06 feet at Hatteras, North Carolina.1 Water rose 5 to 7 feet above ground on the Flagler, St. Johns and Duval county coasts, 3 to 5 feet along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts, and 4 to 6 feet on the sound side of the Outer Banks.1 Gusts also reached 90 knots (104 mph) at Winyah Bay, South Carolina, and 84 knots (97 mph) at Nags Head.1 Rain totaled 18.95 inches near Evergreen, North Carolina, and river flooding set records on the Lumber River at Lumberton and put 85 percent of Fair Bluff under water.1

In the U.S., surge and freshwater flooding damaged or impaired more than 1 million structures.1 Volusia County, Florida, had 69 homes destroyed and 467 with major damage, and Brevard County had 11 destroyed and 140 with major damage.1 On Edisto Beach, South Carolina, surge and waves damaged at least 70 beachfront homes, and across southeastern and eastern North Carolina, Matthew caused at least $1.5 billion in property damage to 100,000 buildings.1 NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information estimates about $10.0 billion in U.S. damage.1 NHC counts 34 direct U.S. deaths, 25 of them in North Carolina, where all but one were from flooding.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Matthew (AL142016)

Best track (50 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 28, 12:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph1009 mb13.4°N, 59.8°W
Sep 28, 18:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph1008 mb13.6°N, 61.2°W
Sep 29, 00:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph1004 mb13.9°N, 62.6°W
Sep 29, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph1002 mb14.0°N, 64.0°W
Sep 29, 12:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph995 mb14.1°N, 65.5°W
Sep 29, 18:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph993 mb14.2°N, 66.9°W
Sep 30, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph987 mb14.2°N, 68.1°W
Sep 30, 06:00 UTCCategory 2 hurricane98 mph979 mb14.0°N, 69.3°W
Sep 30, 12:00 UTCCategory 3 hurricane115 mph968 mb13.8°N, 70.4°W
Sep 30, 18:00 UTCCategory 4 hurricane138 mph955 mb13.5°N, 71.2°W
Oct 1, 00:00 UTCCategory 5 hurricane167 mph942 mb13.4°N, 71.9°W
Oct 1, 06:00 UTCCategory 5 hurricane161 mph942 mb13.4°N, 72.5°W
Show all 50