In the past week, North Carolina residents have experienced rainy and stormy weather that has kept us all alert. As of today, Tropical Storm Matthew is now officially Hurricane Matthew, and a few hours ago it was rated as a Category 3 in the Central Caribbean. While this may seem like a general cause for concern, Hurricane Matthew's similarities to a deadly hurricane that occurred back in 1954 are making residents fear the worst.
Growing more and more intense by the moment, Hurricane Matthew could be hitting the coast this week. While the path isn't clear yet, North Carolina residents will need to keep an eye on their local weather station for more updates.
Pictured above, you can see a shot from the YouTube video provided by NASA.gov. In the video below you can see Tropical Storm Matthew turn into Hurricane Matthew from September 27th through today.
The main reason this hurricane is problematic is because of its similarities to the deadly and destructive Hurricane Hazel from October of 1954.
Hurricane Hazel tore a path of destruction after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. It was one of three deadly hurricanes to hit the coast in 1954.
Below, you can see Hurricane Hazel's path from 1954.
Forming just east of the Winward Islands, Hurricane Hazel turned north after becoming more intense over the Caribbean. It made landfall right near the border we share with South Carolina. Hurricane Hazel quickly tore through the United States.
In Washington, the highest winds ever recorded were caused by Hurricane Hazel, sustaining speeds of 78 mph. The hurricane took the lives of 13 people in Virginia and 6 in Maryland.
Once Hurricane Hazel made her way to Canada, she destroyed thousands of homes and took the lives of 81 people in Ontario.
Up until this point in history, hurricanes were not tracked and forecasted very effectively. After 1954, when these three tremendously deadly hurricanes hit the United States, Congress funded and formed the National Hurricane Research Project.
Pictured above, you can see destroyed homes from both Toronto and North Carolina.
Forecasts are showing that, like Hurricane Hazel, Hurricane Matthew is most likely to take a dramatic turn to the north, making landfall in the United States along the coast.
As many of our residents may already know from the past, October is a month that tropical cyclones tend to form out in the Central and Western regions of the Caribbean. Hurricane Matthew holds strong similarities to Hurricane Hazel and has many of our residents preparing for the worst.
Were you around to remember the terrible and heartbreaking damage that Hurricane Hazel caused? Are you feeling worried that Hurricane Matthew could be coming our way? We'll have to keep an eye on the news of the next few days to see how things progress.
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