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 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.