MIDTOWN — Hurricane Matthew is forecast to pass dangerously close to the city Sunday morning, bringing strong rip currents and heavy rain, forecasters said.
The hurricane, which is currently pounding Haiti with 145 miles per hour wind, is expected to weaken to a Category 1 storm by this weekend while it churns about 100 miles east of the city by 8 a.m. Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
“[There’s] still an awful lot of uncertainty,” said NWS spokesman Patrick Maloit. “People should be paying attention. Review your storm plan. Make sure you’ve got batteries for flash lights, a little canned food.”
Even if the storm misses us, the city’s coasts could still see beach erosion and dangerous rip tides, Maloit added.
The hurricane will start to weaken as it makes landfall on Haiti and then The Bahamas, Maloit said.
It is expected to hit Wilmington, North Carolina, at about 8 a.m. Saturday before turning right toward Long Island.
Winds will be about 90 miles an hour with heavy rain when it gets to our area.
In the meantime, the city could see some nice fall weather before the storm, with sunny skies forecast for Wednesday through Friday with highs in the upper-60s to mid-70s, dropping down to the mid-50s at night.
