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All storm pages · 2016 Atlantic season

Hurricane Matthew 2016

Category 5 hurricane · Atlantic · September 28 to October 9, 2016

Within 24 hours ending October 1, Matthew's winds rose by 85 mph (75 knots), tied for the fourth-largest one-day gain in the Atlantic record. Its 150 mph landfall in Haiti on October 4, 2016 ranks tied for the strongest of the 10 storms with a landfall record there. It reached Category 5 with 165 mph winds, one of 44 Atlantic storms to do so since 1851. The name Matthew is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Matthew (2016) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N80°W70°W60°WNassauBridgetownHaiti, 150 mphCuba, 130 mphBahamas, 130 mphSouth Carolina, 85 mphPeak 165 mphFirst recordNot tropicalTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 4Category 500 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Matthew (2016) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160200Sep 29Oct 1Oct 3Oct 5Oct 7Oct 9mph
  1. First record (tropical storm) 25 miles north-northwest of Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
  2. Hurricane 200 miles northeast of Willemstad, Curacao
  3. Major hurricane 90 miles north-northwest of Oranjestad, Aruba
  4. Peak 140 miles west-northwest of Oranjestad, Aruba; lowest pressure 934 mb
  5. Landfall Haiti
  6. Landfall Cuba: Category 4, 130 mph, 949 mb
  7. Landfall Bahamas: Category 4, 130 mph, 937 mb
  8. Landfall South Carolina: Category 1, 85 mph, 967 mb
  9. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 155 miles south-southeast of Virginia Beach, Virginia
  10. Last record 295 miles east-southeast of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind165 mph · tied 21st of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure934 mb · tied 79th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy50.9 · 14th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone10.8 days · tied 196th of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

More from the record

It has landfall records in 4 different places: Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and South Carolina.

No other storm of the 2016 Atlantic season matched its 165 mph peak; the season had 16 storms.

It generated 36% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy, more than any other 2016 storm.

In the 2016 season

04080120160200Matthew

Storm 14 of 16 in 2016, hurricane 5 of 7; it formed after Lisa and before Nicole. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Freeport, the Bahamas10 mi130 mphOctober 6
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina11 mi80 mphOctober 8
Jérémie, Grand'Anse, Haiti12 mi145 mphOctober 4
Charleston, South Carolina16 mi90 mphOctober 8
Nassau, the Bahamas23 mi140 mphOctober 6
Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados24 mi60 mphSeptember 28
Beaufort, South Carolina25 mi100 mphOctober 8
Castries, Saint Lucia29 mi60 mphSeptember 28

Every storm within 50 miles of Charleston, South Carolina

Similar landfalls in Haiti

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Haiti came closest to Matthew's 150 mph:

All 10 storms with a landfall record in Haiti

Also peaked at 165 mph

Of 6 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time: