Episode 15: Hurricane Matthew: A Personal Perspective

Hype of the Week: 
​Hurricane Matthew and Minh's Personal Experience Living through the Storm

A homeless woman was photographed wading through the floodwaters on President Street in Savannah, GA. Photo by Stephen Morton, Associated Press

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• Read more about the homeless woman's story from Savannah here.
• The Weather Channel's coverage of Hurricane Matthew on Georgia
• A Recap of Hurricane Matthew, including rainfall totals, storm surge numbers, and peak wind gusts from The Weather Channel

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Strong winds from Hurricane Matthew caused significant structural damage to this gas station canopy in Hinesville, GA. Photo by Minh Phan.

A large tree is uprooted in Downtown Savannah by Hurricane Matthew's ferocious winds. Photo by Minh Phan.

Georgia National Guard men and women help evacuees at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center unload school buses coming from an inland shelter in Augusta, Georgia. Photo by Minh Phan

Some of the numbers from Hurricane Matthew:

Sample of Highest Rainfall Totals:

• Savannah (Hunter U.S. Army Airfield), Georgia: 17.53
• William O Huske Lock 3, North Carolina: 15.65 inches
• Goldsboro, North Carolina: 15.24 inches
• Fayetteville, North Carolina: 14.82 inches
• Beaufort, South Carolina: 14.04 inches
• Reevesville, South Carolina: 12.90 inches
• Virginia Beach, Virginia area: 12.16 inches
• Suffolk, Virginia: 11.24 inches
• Hilton Head Island, South Carolina: 11.00 inches
  
  

Storm Surge:

• Fort Pulaski 12.56 feet above Mean Lowest Low Water (MLLW) (old record of 12.22’ with Hurricane David in 1979. Highway 80 floods at 9.2’)
• St. Augustine/Fernandina Beach: 9.88 feet (2.5 feet of water on streets

Wind Gusts:

• Cape Canaveral, Florida: 107 mph (on an elevated tower at 54 feet above the ground)
• Tybee Island, Georgia: 96 mph
• Jennette's Pier, North Carolina (Outer Banks): 91 mph
• Daytona Beach, Florida: 91 mph
• Hilton Head Island, South Carolina: 88 mph
• Jacksonville Area: 87 mph
• South Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: 84 mph
• Duck, North Carolina: 83 mph
• Beaufort, South Carolina: 83 mph
• Fort Pulaski, Georgia: 79 mph
• Folly Beach, South Carolina: 76 mph

Personal Stories:

Castle, Minh, and friends did one of those "escape room" things back in 2014 in Athens. We did not escape...

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