'Powerful Hurricane Matthew Barely Moving,' Forecasters Say

TAMPA, FL — Hurricane Matthew was packing 150 mph maximum sustained winds Saturday night as its forward momentum stalled about 360 miles south-southwest of Port Au Prince, Haiti. According to the National Hurricane Center, "powerful Hurricane Matthew (was) barely moving," as of 8 p.m. Saturday night.

As forecasters track Category 4 Matthew's journey through the Caribbean Sea, they are also keeping a close watch on a second disturbance that has cropped up in the Atlantic Ocean.

Matthew is expected to begin a slow northwestward turn overnight Saturday. After that, forecasters anticipate the storm will turn north-northwest and increase its forward speed on Sunday with a turn north anticipated Monday.

On its current projected path, Matthew is expected to strike Jamaica as a major hurricane on Monday before moving across Cuba Tuesday. Weakening is expected after the system clears Cuba, but a return to major storm status is projected by Wednesday.

Just where Matthew will go after Cuba is still a bit of a guessing game. Current projections place the storm heading north to north-west in the Atlantic Ocean by Wednesday. While it’s still too early to tell what, if any, impact the storm might have on Florida, the Sunshine State is in a sliver of the storm’s projected path.

Forecasters at the hurricane center say hurricane-force winds are extending out from Matthew by about 25 miles. Tropical storm-force winds extend out 205 miles.

Meanwhile, a new disturbance has cropped up in the Atlantic. That system is a broad area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave. It was located about 600 miles east of the Leeward Islands Saturday evening.

“Development, if any, of this system is expected to be slow to occur due to strong upper-level winds,” the hurricane center wrote in its 8 p.m. Saturday Tropical Weather Outlook report. The system is moving northwest at 15 mph. It’s been given only a 20 percent chance of further development over the next five days.

Hurricane Matthew’s formation comes at the peak of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Forecasters at the hurricane center say the eight-week period that begins in mid-August and runs through mid-October is a “season within the season.” This eight-week period “is often the most active and dangerous time for tropical cyclone activity,” NOAA explained on its website.

The eight-week period is historically responsible for major spikes in tropical weather activity, NOAA said. In fact, it accounts for about 78 percent of all tropical storm days on record. It is also the period when 87 percent of the category 1 and 2 hurricane days on record occurred. In addition, this period is responsible for “a whopping 96 percent of the major (category 3, 4 and 5) hurricane days.”

Tampa Bay hasn’t been struck by a hurricane in more than 90 years. Even so, it’s had some close calls this year. Most recently, Hurricane Hermine left flooding woes in her wake as she passed by on her way to the Panhandle. Experts say the region's lucky streak isn’t likely to last. It’s not a question of if, but when, forecasters say.

To find out more about hurricane season and storm preparation, read these related Patch stories:

• Hurricane Season 2016: Where To Find Local Information
• 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season’s Peak is Now
• 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Released
• Hurricane Season: How to Prepare
• 2016 Hurricane Names: Is Yours On the List?
• Tampa Bay 'Ripe for Disaster,' Hurricane Experts Say

To keep up with storm activity as the season develops, bookmark the National Hurricane Center’s website and keep an eye on your hometown Patch site for local information.

Graphics courtesy of NOAA