Hurricane Matthew gained new fury as it hammered the central Bahamas early Thursday, and forecasters said the life-threatening storm is expected to strengthen as it approaches Florida's heavily populated Atlantic coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew, a Category 3 hurricane as the day dawned, was expected to regain status as an even more powerful Category 4 storm in coming hours. The storm is forecast to near the Florida coast starting Thursday night, potentially as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds. Storm surge of 5 feet to 8 feet was expected along the coast from central Florida into Georgia. It made landfall with 120 mph winds in southwest Florida, killing five people as it slashed across the state.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 06, 2016 10:40 UTC