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Updates: Hurricane Matthew makes northwest turn

According to the latest advisory issued at 8 a.m. Sunday, Hurricane Matthew is still a dangerous and slow moving Category 4 storm.

Winds remain at 150 mph with pressure up to 947 mb. Matthew is moving NW at 5 mph over the central Caribbean Sea.

It is expected to bring life-threatening rainfall to portions of Haiti on Sunday and Monday.

A small westward shift in Matthew's long term track would significantly increase risk to the southeastern United States from late Thursday through Friday.

Governor Rick Scott is urging people to have a plan and prepare this weekend for any impacts the storm may bring to Florida.

After reaching Category 5 status on Friday night, Matthew was downgraded to a category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour on Saturday.

A Hurricane Warning has been issued for Jamaica and most of Haiti. A Hurricane Watch has been issued for Cuba.

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The Navy has issued a mandatory evacuation for 700 spouses and children on board Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Service members and civilians will stay on the base and help recovery efforts once the storm passes.

The storm is expected to move slowly northward through the Bahamas from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday morning.

It will bring high surf and an increased risk of deadly rip currents to the Northeast Florida coast by Wednesday.

Matthew is too far from Florida to speculate about specific impacts but coastal flooding and heavy rainfall is possible from late Wednesday through early Friday.

Matthew was upgraded to a hurricane early Thursday afternoon.

It was upgraded to a category 5 with winds of 160 miles per hour on Friday night.

The storm was the first category 5 storm over the Atlantic Basin since Felix in 2007.

Matthew caused at least one death when it entered the Caribbean on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

Officials in St. Vincent reported a 16-year-old boy was crushed by a boulder as he tried to clear a blocked drain.

Related: Talking the Tropics With Mike: Powerful "Matthew" nearing its turn

Tracking Matthew: 5 pm advisory discussion

Posted by Garrett Bedenbaugh on Saturday, October 1, 2016
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