Weather Channel issues unusual warning: 'This is not hyperbole, and I am not kidding' - leave
Weather Channel Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross went on the air Thursday afternoon to urge viewers in Hurricane Matthew's path not to ignore warnings about the storm.
"This is like no storm in the record books," he said. "We are concerned about reports of people deciding to stay in areas under mandatory evacuation orders. This is a mistake. This is not hype. This is not hyperbole. And I am not kidding. I cannot overstate the danger of this storm."
Hurricane Matthew is poised to become a historically dangerous, worst-case-scenario storm for Florida, which has only seen one hurricane since 2005: Hermine, which struck in early September.
No hurricane on the scale of Matthew has struck central Florida in living memory. President Obama has declared a state of emergency in the state, as flood warnings continue to grow more catastrophic. People in areas under mandatory evacuation orders in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina must leave for their own safety.
Watch Norcross deliver his dire warning below:
In a Thursday afternoon press conference, Governor Rick Scott pointed evacuating Floridians to FL511 for updates on evacuation routes and traffic.