BAHAMAS ON ALERT FOR HURRICANE MATTHEW, EXPECTED TO HIT AS A CAT-3 STORM

• All the islands of The Bahamas on HURRICANE ALERT 

• Hurricane Matthew predicted to be a Cat-3 storm in The Bahamas

• Storm expected to bring life-threatening rainfall to portions of Haiti

ALERT #1 ON HURRICANE MATTHEW ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY SATURDAY 01ST OCTOBER, 2016 AT 6 PM EDT.


A HURRICANE ALERT IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.

A HURRICANE ALERT MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS COULD AFFECT THE MENTIONED ISLANDS WITHIN 60 HOURS.

RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS ISLANDS SHOULD BEGIN TO MAKE PREPARATION FOR THE HURRICANE CONDITIONS WHICH COULD BEGIN TO AFFECT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS BEGINNING ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

AT 5:00 PM EDT, THE CENTER OF HURRICANE MATTHEW WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 13.5 DEGREES NORTH AND LONGITUDE 73.4 DEGREES WEST OR ABOUT 360 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF PORT AU PRINCE HAITI, 385 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KINGSTON JAMAICA, 600 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF RAGGED ISLAND AND 837 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF NEW PROVIDENCE.

HURRICANE MATTHEW IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 3 MILES PER HOUR, AND A SLOW NORTHWESTWARD MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH- NORTHWEST WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED ON SUNDAY, FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH ON MONDAY. 

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 150 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. MATTHEW IS A CATERGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, BUT MATTHEW IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A POWERFUL HURRICANE THROUGH MONDAY. 

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES FROM THE CENTER. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205 MILES FROM THE CENTER.

RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS ISLANDS SHOULD BEGIN TO MAKE PREPARATION FOR THE HURRICANE CONDITIONS WHICH COULD BEGIN TO AFFECT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS BEGINNING ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON. RESIDENTS ARE ALSO ADVISED TO LISTEN FOR AND PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO ALL ALERTS ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY.

MODERATE TO SEVERE FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED AS MATTHEW IS FORECAST TO PRODUCE UP TO 25 INCHES OF RAIN IN PARTS OF HAITI AND JAMAICA ON MONDAY. SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS THROUGHOUT THE BAHAMAS SHOULD BEGIN TO SEEK SAFE HARBOUR FOR THEIR VESSELS.
THE NEXT ALERT ON HURRICANE JOAQUIN WILL BE ISSUED AT 9PM EDT ON SATURDAY