remaining in the storm's path were ordered to shelter in place.
The western eye wall of Matthew brushed by Cape Canaveral, home of the Kennedy Space Center, producing wind 115 mph gusts there at around 5:30 a.m. on Friday.
More than 300,000 people were already without power across the state of Florida.
A 17-foot wave was observed 20 Miles east of Cape Canaveral as the most intense section of the hurricane churned just offshore. Meteorologists warned of an imminent destructive storm surge in central Florida.
An 88-mph wind gust was recorded near Satellite Beach, just south of Cape Canaveral, the National Weather Service said.
The deadly storm is projected to run parallel to the coast of the Sunshine State as it tracks closer to land over the next two days, producing a potentially devastating storm surge of up to 10 feet over an expanded swath of coast that stretches from central Florida up into South Carolina. The potential for a destructive storm surge, coupled with up to 15 inches of rain expected in isolated spots, has officials fearing catastrophic flooding.
Forecasters in Jacksonville warned of "worst case storm surge scenario" and said "if a direct impact occurs this will be unlike any hurricane in the modern era" as the outer bands of the storm lashed the state Thursday night.
"This storm will kill you," Florida's Gov. Rick Scott said at a news conference this morning, urging that "the time is now" to evacuate ahead of the Category 4 storm.
"This is life and death," he added.- Yahoo News
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