NHC releases Tropical Cyclone Report on Hurricane Matthew

New reports details all damages, fatalities, and observations of Matthew

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The National Hurricane Center just released a Tropical Cyclone Report for 2016's Hurricane Matthew, and it includes a very detailed summary of the storm itself, as well as the impact of the hurricane. The report also details the deaths caused by Hurricane Matthew, here is an excerpt: 

Matthew was responsible for 585 direct deaths-  546 in Haiti, 34 in the United States, 4 in the Dominican Republic, and 1 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. An additional 13 indirect deaths
occurred in the United States, and 128 persons are missing and 439 persons were injured in Haiti.
More than 3 million residents in the United States were evacuated from coastal areas, at least
380,000 people were evacuated in Cuba, 340,000 people evacuated in Haiti, and more than 8,500
persons evacuated from the southern regions of the Dominican Republic.

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Here is the part of the report that details our area's fatalities: 

Florida: Direct fatalities (2) – one woman was killed in Crescent City in Putnam County when a tree fell on the camper where she was residing, and a 63-year-old woman was killed in the city of DeLand in Volusia County when a tree fell on her while she was outside feeding her animals. There were also nine indirect deaths, which included two persons succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by operating gas-powered electrical generators in their homes and two deaths due to cessation of medical devices when electrical power was lost. More than 1.2 million customers lost electrical power across the state.

The report also details the erosion, beach damage, and coastal areas damages in detail:

Farther north along the northeast Florida coast, major to extreme beach erosion occurred from Flagler Beach to Micklers Landing in St. Johns County. In many areas, the dune lines were cut back 30-40 ft, leaving vertical cliffs that were 12-16 ft high. Large rocks that were uncovered on the beach were forced backward 150 ft to highway A1A, and the highway was washed out in numerous locations up and down the Flagler County coastline. The rough surf conditions also knocked down the end of the Flagler Beach pier and produced significant sand overwash on roads in Marinaland, Summerhaven, Vilano, and Ponte Vedra. Severe storm surge flooding produced inundation of 6-7 ft above ground level, causing a new inlet to be cut in the barrier island between Marineland and Matanzas Inlet. Severe damage was reported in Summerhaven and Matanzas Inlet, with many houses and businesses inundated by saltwater that was at least 3 ft high. Storm surge flooding was reported at the sea walls in St. Augustine Beach and at the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Water heights up to 4 ft above ground level occurred in the city of St. Augustine, especially near the bayfront and the San Sebastian River. More than 2 ft of saltwater intrusion occurred on Anastasia Island. In Ponte Vedra Beach, storm surge inundation moved the sand dune line back 30-40 ft, carved out 12-16 ft cliffs, and undermined numerous structures along the beachfront.


In Duval County, several communities in the east side of the Jacksonville metropolitan area incurred extensive damage due to water and numerous massive oak trees having been knocked down. Major to locally extreme beach erosion occurred in Jacksonville Beach, resulting in some sand dunes being completely swept away. Battering waves knocked down and washed away part of the Jacksonville Beach Pier. The combination of storm surge and freshwater flooding of the St. Johns River destroyed many properties and knocked out electrical power for nearly 250,000 customers in the Jacksonville metropolitan area.
Moderate beach erosion occurred in Nassau County, resulting in several washouts along Ocean Boulevard. Hurricane-force wind gusts caused widespread tree and powerline damage, along with some structural damage, mainly across the eastern portion of the county.

 

The NHC's report on Hurricane Matthew includes a detailed description of the storm surge, the maximum storm surge measured by a tide gauge in the United States was 7.70 ft above normal tide levels at a NOS gauge at Fort Pulaski, Georgia. Matthew also produced storm surges of 6.96 ft at Fernandina Beach, Florida, 6.20 ft at Charleston, South Carolina, and 6.06 ft at Hatteras, North Carolina. Several NOS tide gauges from Mayport, Florida, to Hatteras, North Carolina, as well as along the St. Johns River, measured their highest water levels on record during Matthew.
In Florida, the combined effect of the surge and tide produced maximum inundation levels of 5 to 7 ft above ground level along the coasts of Flagler, St. Johns, and Duval Counties (Fig. 10). A United States Geological Survey (USGS) storm tide pressure sensor deployed on Fort Matanzas Beach just north of Matanzas Inlet recorded a wave-filtered storm tide water elevation of 8.39 ft above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). This measurement converts to about 6.4 ft above Mean Higher High Water (MHHW), which suggests that maximum inundation of 6-7 ft above ground level occurred in the vicinity of Matanzas Inlet. A post-storm assessment conducted by the Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Jacksonville also suggested
that inundation could have been as high as 7 ft in several locations along the immediate coastline, particularly near Matanzas Inlet and Marineland. In Duval County, a record water level of 3.28 ft above MHHW was reported by the NOS gauge at Mayport (Bar Pilots Dock), exceeding the 2.48 ft above MHHW recorded on 27 September 2004 during Hurricane Jeanne. Farther north, maximum inundation levels were 3 to 5 ft above ground level in Nassau County, where the NOS gauge at Fernandina Beach measured a storm tide of 4.17 ft above MHHW. Inundation levels decreased south of Flagler County, with 4 to 6 ft above ground level estimated in Volusia County and 3 to 4 ft above ground level estimated in Brevard County. Maximum inundation levels along the southeastern coast of Florida south of Cape Canaveral were 1 to 2 ft above ground level.
Elsewhere in Florida, inundation occurred well inland from the coast along the banks of the St. Johns River due to locally induced surge in the river and freshwater input from rainfall. Data from NOS tide gauges along the river recorded 3 to 4 ft of storm surge, with a maximum surge of 4.6 ft above normal levels reported at Racy Point. Maximum inundation levels along the river bank were 2 to 4 ft above ground level, with the Racy Point gauge reporting a storm tide of 4.6 ft above MHHW. Record water levels were reported by the NOS gauges at Red Bay Point (3.24 ft above MHHW) and Dames Point (2.77 ft above MHHW).

You can read the entire report from the National Hurricane Center on Hurricane Matthew here...


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