Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jamaicans have been stocking up on supplies at supermarkets in advance of Hurricane Matthew's arrival

Hurricane Matthew has weakened slightly as it moves towards Jamaica, but is still packing winds of up to 230km/h (145mph), strong enough to wreck houses, forecasters say.

It is now a category four storm, the US National Hurricane Center says, after earlier reaching the top category five on a scale of intensity.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has urged citizens to make all necessary preparations.

The storm is due to hit land on Monday.

It is expected to reach Jamaica's southern coast first, but is also likely to reach Haiti and Cuba.

Cuban President Raul Castro has travelled to the eastern city of Santiago to supervise preparations for the storm.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Weather's Ben Rich looks at the progression and potential impacts of Hurricane Matthew.

Officials have warned the high winds could batter Jamaica's main tourist areas including Montego Bay in the north.

With the government on high alert, PM Holness said people should expect the worse.

"What we have control over is our ability to prepare," he said. "We hold firm to the view that our preparation can reduce loss of life and damage to property."

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Supplies of water are in high demand in Jamaica

Local emergency teams as well as the police and army are on standby, while shelters are being set up throughout the island, his office said.

As the storm approaches, many Jamaicans have been stocking up on water and food.

Tropical storm warnings have also been issued for parts of coastal Colombia and Haiti over the weekend.

Haitian authorities say the priority is to protect the southern islands of the country, whose inhabitants they have described as "first at risk", according to AFP news agency.

Forecasters said up to 38cm (15 ins) of rain could fall across Jamaica and on southern Haiti.

While Jamaica was damaged by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, the last major storm in the region was Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Matthew could be the most powerful storm to hit the island since records began, meteorologist Eric Holthaus said on Twitter.</s>Hurricanes are unpredictable and although we have come a long way in tracking them and forecasting where they go they are untamed beasts and have a will of their own.

Listening to the experts pronounce for days including on Friday that Matthew would not and could not intensify from a Category 2 Hurricane for the next couple of days because it was undergoing dry air and wind shear.

Even as the National Hurricane Centre was showing on their website Matthew was increasing in strength to a Category 2 and in minutes was now a Category 4, one of the Miami TV station’s experts was saying it would not intensify until the weekend!

It actually then defied everyone again and became a Category 5 storm – the Atlantic’s first in nine years.

Can you imagine if this had happened just as Matthew was approaching land in a highly populated area?

The very highly respected Jeff Masters, founder of Weather Underground, said in his blog on Saturday (1) morning, “The NHC official forecast and the intensity models failed to predict Matthew’s rapid intensification—though the SHIPS model did give a 12% chance that we would see intensification into a Category 5 hurricane. We don’t have much data over ocean areas to be able to diagnose the detailed flow pattern around the core of a hurricane, and it is likely the shear was actually much lower near Matthew’s center, which allowed the storm to organize more quickly than our models anticipated. The rapid intensification process was also aided by the fact Matthew was moving into a moister atmosphere—the upper-level winds hitting Matthew from the southwest were advecting in air that had high humidity, which did not disrupt the storm like low humidity air would have done.

“Another surprise regarding Matthew’s rapid intensification was that the central pressure that supported the Category 5 winds of the storm was relatively high—941 mb. Category 5 storms usually have pressures quite a bit lower. According to meteorologist Sam Lillo, Matthew had the third highest pressure observed in an Atlantic category 5 hurricane. For comparison, Hurricane Andrew had a 933 mb central pressure when it was a Category 5, and Hurricane Felix had a 935 mb central pressure when it achieved Category 5 status. Matthew’s strongest winds have been focused over a relatively narrow region near the core of the storm, which has allowed it to have extreme winds without an extremely low pressure.

“An Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft made two passes through the eye of Matthew on Saturday morning, and found that Matthew’s central pressure had risen to 947 mb during their second pass at 8:48 am EDT. Flight-level winds at 10,000 feet hit 135 mph and surface winds measured by their stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR) were as high as 124 mph, which would make Matthew a borderline Category 3/Category 4 storm. Infrared satellite loops on Saturday morning showed that Matthew had weakened some, with the eye less distinct and the cloud tops of the eyewall thunderstorms warmer. At upper levels, high cirrus clouds streaming to the north of Matthew showed the continued presence of a powerful outflow channel, which was helping ventilate the storm and allowing it to fight off the high wind shear of 20 – 30 knots affecting it. Aiding development today were warm ocean waters of 28.5°C (83°F) and 70 – 75% relative humidity at mid-levels of the atmosphere, as analyzed by the SHIPS model. Heavy rains from Matthew were affecting the coast of South America near the Colombia/Venezuela border, as seen on Venezuela radar.”

As I write this I am waiting for the right hand turn the experts predict will happen and poor Jamaica and to a lesser extent our Sister Islands are going to get horribly clouted.

With the poor call by the experts so far on Monster Matthew I am not placing any money on them being right.

By the time you read this you will know one way or the other.</s>000 WTNT34 KNHC 240234 TCPAT4 BULLETIN Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal Advisory Number 13 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL042019 1100 PM AST Fri Aug 23 2019 ...CHANTAL BECOMES A REMNANT LOW... ...THIS IS THE LAST ADVISORY... SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- LOCATION...35.6N 40.9W ABOUT 785 MI...1265 KM W OF THE AZORES MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH...45 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...S OR 185 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1014 MB...29.95 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK ---------------------- At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal was located near latitude 35.6 North, longitude 40.9 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the south near 6 mph (9 km/h). A turn toward the southwest and west is expected over the weekend, followed by a slow motion toward the northwest Sunday night and Monday. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is anticipated and Chantal is forecast to dissipate on Monday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1014 mb (29.95 inches). HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- None. NEXT ADVISORY ------------- This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on Chantal. Additional information on this system can be found in High Seas Forecasts issued by the National Weather Service, under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1, WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php $$ Forecaster Zelinsky</s>Santo Domingo.- The Ntional Hurricane Center upgraded Matthew to a hurricane around noon Thurs.

FILE. The Emergency Operations Center (COE) on Wednesday issued an alert for the south region for Hurricane Matthew, which is headed to the central Caribbean Sea and is expected start affecting that area of the country tomorrow Friday.

the National Weather Office (Onamet) said the storm could become a category 1 hurricane and could affect Azua, Peravia, San Cristobal, San José de Ocoa, Pedernales and Barahona.

Matthew", with sustained winds of 95 kph, is located around 100 kilometers west of Saint Lucia and 835 kilometers southeast of Isla Saona, Dominican Republic moving rapidly westward at around 30 kph.

Onamet said the accumulation of rains associated with the storm could be as much as 150 millimeters.

The COE meanwhile also issued a maritime alert throughout the country's coasts, where boats should remain in port.

The COE said as part of its contingency plan all government agencies have been linked to a central communication network</s>In this NOAA handout image, taken by the GOES satellite on Oct. 1, 2016 shows Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean Sea just south of Cuba and Jamaica.

Handout / Getty Images</s>Cameras outside the International Space Station capture images of Hurricane Matthew as it makes it way towards Jamaica and Haiti. Matthew, which has sustained winds of 140 mph (220kph), is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, category 5, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007</s>Hurricane Matthew, a potentially devastating Category 4 storm, swirled across the Caribbean toward Haiti and Jamaica, where residents frantically stocked up on emergency supplies and authorities urged people to evacuate threatened areas.

Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, Category 5, before weakening slightly to a high-end Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph (240 kph). It is the strongest hurricane here since Felix in 2007.

While previous forecasts had Matthew passing near or over the eastern tip of Jamaica, the latest projection has it shifting eastward and possibly striking the southwestern tip of Haiti as a Category 3 hurricane on Monday. A hurricane warning has been issued for the impoverished country which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.

Deforestation has greatly increased the potential for devastating floods and landslides on Haiti, and combined with the ramshackle structure of many homes and building, this means that Matthew could deal a vicious blow to the country.

After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew is expected to reach Cuba on Tuesday, potentially making a direct hit on the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay.

A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including about 700 family members of military personnel, was underway at the base and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center.

The forecast track would also carry Matthew into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away.

"It's too early to rule out what impacts, if any, would occur in the United States and Florida," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman at the Hurricane Center.

In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be "highly threatened" from the approaching system, which is expected to start affecting Haiti and Jamaica Sunday night. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits.

Emergency management authorities banned boating, particularly along the impoverished country's southern coastline.

In Jamaica, where there is also a hurricane warning, flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways.

Residents of the capital, Kingston, crowded supermarkets to buy bottled water, canned food and batteries. In the coastal town of Port Royal, officials were urging residents to seek refuge in government shelters once they open up on Sunday.

Many Jamaicans also began stocking up for the emergency.

At the Azan Super Centre, a supermarket in Kingston, shoppers were scooping up flashlights and gas lamps and other key supplies along with food. The kerosene was already sold out.

"It has been chaos from the morning," owner Melain Azan said.

Shopper Nardia Powell said she was stocking up because she learned a hard lesson when she was unprepared for Hurricane Ivan in 2004, as were many others. "So, I just want to be on the safe side, right?" she said.

Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. At its peak, it was more powerful than Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall on the island in September 1988 and was the most destructive storm in the country's modern history.

As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centered about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was traveling north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph).

Earlier, Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America where there were reports of at least two deaths.

But authorities in the area overall breathed a sigh of relief as damage appeared minimal despite flooding in towns along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia. Some officials were even grateful for the rain after a multi-year drought in the poverty-stricken area.

"Families that evacuated are returning to their homes," said La Guajira Gov. Jorge Velez. "The dikes and wells filled up, the earth is moist, and this benefits agriculture in an area where it hasn't rained for five years, benefiting the community."</s>One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history roared over the open Caribbean Sea on Saturday on a course that threatened Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba.

Matthew briefly reached the top hurricane classification, Category 5, and was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew's winds had slipped slightly from a peak of 160 mph (260 kph) to a still-potentially devastating 150 mph (240 kph), a Category 4 storm. It was expected to near eastern Jamaica and southwestern Haiti on Monday.

The latest forecast had Matthew's path passing closer to Haiti than before and the center issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica and "much of Haiti," and said life-threatening rainfall was expected in parts of the impoverished Caribbean nation.

The forecast track would also carry Matthew across Cuba and into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away.

"It's too early to rule out what impacts, if any, would occur in the United States and Florida," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman at the Hurricane Center.

As Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America there were reports of at least one death — the second attributed to the storm.

Authorities in the area overall breathed a sigh of relief as the storm triggered heavy flooding in towns along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia, but damage overall was minimal. Some officials were even grateful for the rain after a multi-year drought in the poverty-stricken area.

"Families that evacuated are returning to their homes," said La Guajira Gov. Jorge Velez. "The dikes and wells filled up, the earth is moist, and this benefits agriculture in an area where it hasn't rained for five years, benefiting the community."

Authorities say that at least 27 houses were damaged and two roads were washed out. One person, a 67-year indigenous man, was carried away to his death by a flash flood in an area where it hadn't rained for four years.

Elsewhere, all across Colombia's Caribbean coastline, authorities have set up emergency shelters, closed access to beaches and urged residents living near the ocean to move inland in preparation for storm surges that they said will reach their most-intense moment sometime Saturday.

There's also concern that heavy rain across much of the country this weekend could dampen turnout for a nationwide referendum Sunday on a historic peace accord between the government and leftist rebels.

In Jamaica, high surf began pounding the coast and flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways.

Residents of the capital, Kingston, crowded supermarkets to buy bottled water, canned food and batteries, and there was already flooding in the coastal town of Port Royal, where officials were urging residents to seek refuge in government shelters once they open up on Sunday.

Many Jamaicans also began stocking up for the emergency.

At the Azan Super Centre, a supermarket in Kingston, shoppers were scooping up flashlights and gas lamps and other key supplies along with food. The kerosene was already sold out.

"It has been chaos from the morning," owner Melain Azan said.

Shopper Nardia Powell said she was stocking up because she learned a hard lesson when she was unprepared for Hurricane Ivan in 2004, as were many others. "So, I just want to be on the safe side, right?" she said.

Feltgen said storm force winds and rain will arrive well before the center of the storm. Jamaicans "basically have daylight today, they have tonight and they have daylight tomorrow to take care of what needs to be done," he said.

Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. At its peak, it was more powerful than Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall on the island in September 1988 and was the most destructive storm in the country's modern history.

In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be "highly threatened" from the approaching system. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits.

Emergency management authorities banned boating starting Saturday, particularly along the impoverished country's southern coastline.

Forecasters said rainfall totals could reach 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches (63 centimeters) in Jamaica and southwestern Haiti.

The U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is also potentially in the path of the storm. A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including about 700 family members of military personnel was underway and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center.

As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centered about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was traveling north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph)..

Matthew caused at least one death when it entered the Caribbean on Wednesday. Officials in St. Vincent reported a 16-year-old boy was crushed by a boulder as he tried to clear a blocked drain.</s>Vulnerable Haiti braced for flash floods and violent winds from the extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew as the powerful storm kept on a path early Monday aiming at the hemisphere's poorest country.

The eye of the approaching Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) late Sunday, was expected to pass to the east of Jamaica and then cross over or be very close to the southwestern tip of Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was predicted to hit the lightly populated eastern tip of Cuba on Tuesday afternoon.

Forecasters said as much as 40 inches of rain could fall on some isolated areas of Haiti, raising fears of deadly mudslides and floods in the heavily deforested country where many families live in flimsy houses with corrugated metal roofs.

"Some of us will die but I pray it won't be a lot," said Serge Barionette in the southern town of Gressier, where a river recurrently bursts its banks during serious storms.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Haiti, and Cuba. Rain was already lashing parts of Jamaica and flooding some homes, but forecasters said the southern Haitian countryside around Jeremie and Les Cayes could see the worst of the rains and punishing winds.

"Wherever that center passes close to would see the worst winds and that's what's projected to happen for the western tip of Haiti," said John Cangilosi, a hurricane specialist at the U.S. center. "There is a big concern for rains there and also a big concern for storm surge."

Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, Category 5, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007. The hurricane center said the storm appeared to be on track to pass east of Florida through the Bahamas, but it was too soon to predict with certainty whether it would threaten any spot on the U.S. East Coast.

Officials with Haiti's civil protection agency said there were roughly 1,300 emergency shelters across the country, enough to hold up to 340,000 people. Authorities broadcast warnings over the radio telling people to swiftly heed evacuation warnings, trying to counter a common tendency for people to try to stay in their homes to protect them during natural disasters.

In a brief address carried on state radio, interim President Jocelerme Privert urged Haitians to listen closely to official warnings and be ready to move. "To those people living in houses that could collapse, it's necessary that you leave these houses to take refuge in schools and churches," he said.

Teams of civil protection officials walked the streets of Les Cayes and other areas urging residents to secure their homes, prepare emergency kits and warn their neighbors. They also evacuated people from some outlying islands.

As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centered about 325 miles (520 kilometers) south-southwest of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. It was moving northwest at 5 mph (7 kph).

A hurricane warning was posted for the southeastern Bahamas. A hurricane watch was in effect for the central Bahamas and the Turks and Caico Islands, and a tropical storm warning was issued for parts of the Dominican Republic, where authorities began mandatory evacuations of areas at risk for flooding.

The hurricane earlier had been projected to be closer to Jamaica, but still was a danger to the island of less than 3 million inhabitants.

"The center of the system is looking more likely that it will pass to the east of Jamaica but it won't miss it by that much, so they are still going to see impacts," Cangilosi said. "The impacts are maybe going to be a little lower there than they would be in Haiti and eastern Cuba."

After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew was projected to reach Cuba. The center was expected to pass about 50 miles east of the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, where authorities evacuated about 700 spouses and children of service members on military transport planes to Florida.

The U.S. installation has a population of about 5,500, including 61 men held at the detention center for terrorism suspects. Navy Capt. David Culpepper, the base commander, said emergency shelters had been set up and authorities were bracing for 80 mph winds and storm surge and heavy rain that could threaten some low-lying areas, including around the power plant and water desalination facility.

"We have no choice but to prepare ourselves for to take a frontal assault if you will," Culpepper said.</s>One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history weakened a little on Saturday as it drenched coastal Colombia and roared across the Caribbean on a course that still puts Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba in the path of potentially devastating winds and rain.

Matthew briefly reached the top hurricane classification, Category 5, and was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew's winds had slipped from a peak of 160 mph (260 kph) to a still-potentially devastating 140 mph (220 kph) and it was expected to reach the eastern part of Jamaica on Monday.

The forecast track would carry it across Cuba and into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away. "It's too early to rule out what impacts, if any, would occur in the United States and Florida," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman at the Hurricane Center.

As Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America there were reports of heavy flooding and at least one death — the second attributed to the storm.

Authorities said at least 18 houses were damaged along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia, which has been suffering from a multi-year drought. They said a 67-year-old man was swept away to his death by a flash flood in an area where it hadn't rained for four years.

Local TV broadcast images of cars and tree trunks surging though flooded streets in coastal areas.

Colombian authorities closed access to beaches and urged residents living near the ocean to move inland in preparation for storm surges that they said would be most intense on Saturday.

There was also concern that heavy rain across much of the country could dampen turnout for Sunday's nationwide referendum on a historic peace accord between the government and leftist rebels.

In Jamaica, high surf began pounding the coast and flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways.

Many also began stocking up for the emergency.

"I left work to pick up a few items, candles, tin stuff, bread," 41-year-old Angella Wage said at a crowded store in the Half Way Tree area of the capital, Kingston. "We can never be too careful."

Feltgen said storm force winds and rain will arrive well before the center of the storm. Jamaicans "basically have daylight today, they have tonight and they have daylight tomorrow to take care of what needs to be done," he said.

Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. At its peak, it was more powerful than Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall on the island in September 1988 and was the most destructive storm in the country's modern history.

The U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is also potentially in the path of the storm. A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including family members of military personnel was underway and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center.

Forecasters said rainfall totals could reach 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches (63 centimeters) in Jamaica and southwestern Haiti.

In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be "highly threatened" from the approaching system over the next 72 hours. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits.

Emergency management authorities banned boating starting Saturday, particularly along the impoverished country's southern coastline, but numerous fishing skiffs could still be seen off the south coast.

As of 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), the storm was centered about 380 miles (615 kilometers) southeast of Kingston. It was meandering, moving south at 2 mph (4 kph), but expected to veer north soon.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 kilometers).

Matthew caused at least one death when it entered the Caribbean on Wednesday. Officials in St. Vincent reported a 16-year-old boy was crushed by a boulder as he tried to clear a blocked drain.
Hurricane Matthew, at Category 4 strength with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h), temporarily stalls as it heads towards Jamaica and Haiti. Weather forecasters expect tropical storm conditions today with landfall tomorrow. Further, they expect rainfall of 20 inches, with up to 40 inches in some parts of southern Haiti.