Hurricane Matthew live coverage

Hurricane Matthew is a MONSTER! Latest updates and coverage HERE! LIVE STREAM

KING 10:47 AM. PDT October 06, 2016

Hurricane Matthew is forecast to grind up 500 miles of the East Coast over the next few days. (Photo: NASA)

Today is the day Hurricane Matthew will hit Florida

Late Thursday. That"s whenthis hurricane will make landfall in the U.S.The storm was centeredabout 215 miles southeast ofWest Palm Beach, Fla., Thursday morningand moving northwest toward the state at 12 mph, according to the U.S.National Hurricane Center.Forecasters say the first outer rain bands from Hurricane Matthew have already begun to approach Florida as the big storm crosses the Bahamas toward the state.

How bad will the storm be when it hits?

The National Hurricane Centerupgraded Matthew to a Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.Florida Gov. Rick Scott says to expectthreateningwinds as strong as 150 mph,storm surges up to 9 feet and and widespread power outages.

What if people stay behind?

Scott hasn"t minced words,urging residents to leave the coast. "This storm will kill you." If residents stay, emergency responders will not be sent to help them, he said at news conferences.

Full coverage:Everything about Hurricane Matthew

What about other southern states?

In addition to Florida, the governors ofSouth Carolinaand North Carolina have also declared states of emergency along the coast. Roughly 250,000 residents and tourists fled South Carolina"s Lowcountry by Wednesday evening ahead of the approaching storm. At least as many more are expected to evacuate Thursday.

The gas situation: Don"t be greedy

The gas supply is plentiful, Scott said,but don"t take more than what you need. There are some empty gas stations as about 1.5 million Floridians are under evacuation orders butFlorida has a six-day supply of gas even if all ports close.

Flight cancellations are piling up

As of Thursday morning,airlines had canceled nearly 2,700 flightsmany preemptively through Friday in anticipation of the storm, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. That total could grow even further depending on the storm"s path. Already, several Florida airports have warned of reduced flight schedules. In Fort Lauderdale, all flight operations will cease at 10:30 a.m. ET, officials there said.

Sports: Just about everything could be rescheduled

Scores of high school football games have beenrescheduledand college and pro teams are examining whether to do the same.

Haiti: Matthew left a broad swath of destruction

Eleven people died across the Caribbean, including five in Haiti. The island country hasextensive flooding and rivers of mudthat washed out a crucial bridge into the southwestern peninsula of the country. Thousands are seeking shelter.But Haiti Ambassador Paul Altidor said the damage is nowhere near the level of disaster Haiti endured in the 2010 earthquake where 200,000 died.

Copyright 2016 KING

Source: http://www.king5.com/news/local/hurricane-matthew-live-coverage/329538190