Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are warning that large waves pushed by Hurricane Matthew could threaten lives and property hours before the Category 4 storm's eye nears the shore.
Jamie Rhome is leader of the storm surge team at the hurricane center in Miami. Rhome says levels were up to a foot higher than normal as far north as Jacksonville on Thursday as a strengthening Matthew tore through the Bahamas toward Florida.
Rhome said parts of Florida, such as the Cape Canaveral area or communities along the St. Johns River, could see waters rise up to 9 feet above ground — a level well overhead for most adults.
Rhome says such levels are life-threatening because they are accompanied by "waves and currents and floating debris."
The hurricane center has issued storm surge watches and warnings for life-threatening flooding from Boca Raton in South Florida all the way up the coast north of Charleston, South Carolina.