ECMWF The European model now predicts Hurricane Matthew WILL hit Florida as a Category 4 storm

The latest projection from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts agrees with most US models that the gigantic, slow-moving hurricane will reach Haiti at around 2am on Tuesday. But unlike other forecasts the new ECMWF high probability cluster now shows ALL likely paths of the storm then hitting Florida, before moving north and hugging the south eastern coast of the United States. And a second UK forecast just issued, from the Met Office, agrees a direct hit on Florida later this week is now the most likely scenario. It shows the storm turning west after it passes Cuba, before making landfall near Orlando.

UK Met Office The hurricane will hit Florida, warns this UK Met Office forecast model

The killer Hurricane is currently rolling north through the Caribbean at just 6MPH having already claimed the lives of three people in Haiti.



The southern party of the country was also cut off from the rest of it after a key bridge which was lashed by Hurricane Matthew collapsed. Category 4 Matthew, one of the worst storms to hit the region since 2007, is unusual in having weakened only slightly over the past five days as it continued on its deadly path through Central America. America’s National Hurricane Centre has warned Florida and the rest of the east coast to be prepared for possible impact by the end of the week and US officials have said they are not ruling out a “catastrophic” event.



A spokesman said: “The cyclone is expected to move in a general northward direction for the next 48 hours or so.



“After clearing the northeastern coast of Cuba, Matthew is expected to turn toward the north-northwest within southeasterly flow between the western periphery of a strong ridge located over the southwestern Atlantic and a weak mid- to upper-level trough currently located over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

ABC Hurricane Matthew is set to hit the US coast on Thursday

He added: "Although the official forecast continues to show a track east of Florida, it is still too soon to rule out possible hurricane impacts there.



“It is also too soon to know whether, or how, Matthew might affect the remainder of the United States east coast.” 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.

This storm is catastrophic, and if it hits our state, we could see impacts that we have not seen in many years Florida Governor Rick Scott on Hurricane Matthew

Florida Governor Rick Scott said: "This is a serious and life threatening storm. I have spoken with county emergency management officials who are working in our local communities to ensure our state is prepared for the potential impacts of this major hurricane. This storm is catastrophic, and if it hits our state, we could see impacts that we have not seen in many years. Even though the storm’s projected path is just east of our state, no one should take this lightly. "Storms change fast and Hurricane Matthew could hit Florida as early as Wednesday. "At this time, there have been no evacuations ordered in Florida, but that could change quickly. Please stay alert. Make sure to have three days of food and water, flashlights, batteries and a battery powered radio.”



More than a million people have also been told to leave their homes as Hurricane Matthew heads towards the US state of South Carolina. State Governor Nikki Haley tonight declared a state of emergency ordered the mass evacuation of people in coastal areas.



Florida and Georgia have also announced states of emergency for the violent storm which has already wreaked havoc in the Caribbean with 145mph winds and surging seas.

NOAA Hurricane Matthew is set to hit the East Coast of USA

NASA NASA image of Hurricane Matthew over the Caribbean

Matthew hit category-5 status at the end of last week making it the strongest hurricane to sweep the Atlantic since Hurricane Dean in 2007.



Hurricane warnings are currently in place across the Caribbean with Jamaica preparing for the worst attack since 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert.



Gilbert was the most powerful storm ever to hit the Atlantic basin until it was eclipsed by Hurricane Wilma in 2005.



Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba are currently braced for devastating winds and floods from more than two feet of rainwater.

Families are being urged to stock up on food and water while emergency services plan to evacuate high-risk areas.



Hundreds of emergency shelters have been put up in southern Haiti with experts warning of flash floods and mudslides.







Hurricane Matthew Tue, October 4, 2016 At least 108 people have been killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the United States braces itself for the worst storm in a decade. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 36 Tropical Storm Matthew, which has since gained hurricane strength, is seen in an image captured by NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite.

NOAA Hurricane Matthew's clear eye as the storm moved through the south central Caribbean Sea

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: “The impact of [Matthew] will probably be similar or greater than Hurricane Gilbert, but our preparedness would be far better.”



After moving through Haiti and Jamaica over the next 12 hours it is expected to hit Cuba tomorrow with the US Guantanamo Bay Navy base in the firing line with more than 5,000 being forced to leave including 700 civilians and 61 men held at the detention centre. Matthew has already claimed the lives of two people - a 67-year-old man who was swept away by a stream in Uribia, Colombia and a 16-year-old boy crushed by a boulder on the island of St. Vincent, west of Barbados.



Weather experts say even if Matthew misses a direct collision with America it threatens dangerous coastal flooding and beach erosion.







They are keeping an eye on the track of the storm which will depend on high-atmosphere air pressure and the jet stream.



A spokesman for The Weather Channel said: “Forecast guidance suggests we can't rule out at least tropical storm-force winds along the eastern Florida coast in the Thursday-Friday timeframe. “What will ultimately determine how close Matthew comes to at least the southeast U.S. coast involves the timing and strength of upper-level high pressure along the East giving way to a southward dip in the jet stream.