UPDATE (11:00 p.m.) -- While maximum winds have fallen to 115 mph over the central Bahamas late Wednesday night, satellite imagery suggests a strengthening cycle is underway, and Hurricane Matthew's peak sustained winds are forecast to increase around its core through Thursday morning. The storm center was about 325 miles southeast of West Palm Beach.
MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- People along the lengthy eastern coast of Florida are preparing and bracing for hefty impacts that Hurricane Matthew may offer later this week.
Hurricane Matthew lashed the eastern tip of Cuba and the islands in the central Bahamas as a slightly weaker, but still major, hurricane Wednesday.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Hurricane Matthew had peak winds of 120 miles per hour, and its center was located 400 miles southeast of West Palm Beach, moving to the northwest at 12 mph.
Hurricane warnings are up for many parts of the Florida East Coast, from north of Golden Beach in south Florida to the Flagler/Volusia County line. Hurricane conditions are possible in the warning zone within 36 hours.
A hurricane watch extends north from Flagler/Volusia line to the Savannah River in Georgia, where hurricane conditions can occur within 48 hours.
Tropical storm watches exist along the Florida Gulf Coast, from the mouth of the Suwannee River south to near Chokoloskee on the west coast.
A few interior counties in northeast Florida are included in a tropical storm warning.
There are no counties in the Big Bend or southwest Georgia that are in any sort of tropical-related watch or warning.
The expectations for local conditions as Matthew passes to the east have not drastically changed. For the Big Bend and southwest Georgia, it is important to note that this is not a repeat situation that was created by Hurricane Hermine in early September. There is very high confidence that the core of Hurricane Matthew will remain east of the WTXL viewing region. As a result, direct impacts will be minimized, especially areas west of Interstate 75. In fact, areas around the tri-state may remain mostly sunny and dry Friday, with warm temperatures as the hurricane passes to the east.
Even though some indirect impacts are forecast, the region will escape the brunt of the hurricane.
If Matthew's eye (the central part of the storm) takes a path closer to the coast, or even moves just inland from the coast, some fringe areas of rain and occasional gusts, possibly near tropical-storm-force at times, may be experienced near and east of Interstate 75 Friday.
As Matthew departs the Florida/Georgia area Saturday, its circulation will aid in propelling a cold front and a drier air mass into the region, which will promote rain-free conditions and trigger a cooling trend for early next week.
Long-range forecast modeling suggests what's left of Hurricane Matthew may be cut off from any strong steering flow, which may cause the system to wander farther offshore in the western Atlantic into early next week, quite possibly as a substantially weaker hurricane.
