>> good morning. thanks for watching cbs north carolina. i'm stefan chase. >> good morning. i'm russ bowen. we begin with the latest on hurricane matthew. the category 3 storm pounded the bahamas with sustained wind of 115 miles per hour. >> it's expected to strengthen to a category 4 coast. >> beaches in florida usually packed with people are like ghost towns this morning as all the tourists were asked to leave ahead of the hurricane. hotels were forced to kick out existing guests, and parking lot sit empty. residents cleared shelves as they prepare to hunker down as the storm approaches. >> it appears the brunt of the storm will spare most of north carolina but did not stop visitors from leaving ocracoke island on the outer banks.

place for nonresidents yesterday morning and has looked promising for most of the state. the governor stopped mandatory evacuations on coastal communities, but governor mccrory said we should not let our guard down yet. for the latest, get's go to alyssa corfont with more. >> good morning, guys. good morning to you at home as well. as promised, here's the 5:00 a.m. advisory wind at 125 miles per are now finding this storm more -- stronger storm. we see that by the stronger wind and clear eye emerging within the past hour. this little island is nassau in the back ham mass, a popular destination spot, and looks like this eye of the storm is

. we'll get to more in a little bit but i want to talk about the forecast because thing will change in the next 24 hour. cloudy skies, nowhere associated with hurricane matthew. we don't start to see the impacts of matthew until late tomorrow into tomorrow night. in the meantime, temperatures are bit cool as you head out the door, 57 roxboro, 59 lewisburg, 61 rocky mount from start to begin i, similar to yesterday. however, today i believe it will be a chance of showers. 71 our high but normal is 76. we will be back to 70 by 6:00 this evening with isolated shower in the forecast. of course, i'm still sifting through the newest information on hurricane matthew with the updated track for you in about

as you sift through that information, the impact is looking less severe as the storm tracks further to sea, news leaders are happy to hear. >> governor mccrory said they will not completely ramp down preparations until matthew is way out of the way. carleigh griffith joins us from the operation center in raleigh with how leaders are handling the situation. what's the latest? >> po with the governors of georgia and south carolina and on the call will be speaking with the head of the army corps of engineers. the call is scheduled for early this afternoon. the governor and emergency operation officials will consider moving resources, including the state national guard, to south carolina and georgia. however, mccrory said they're not making any promises just

for sure the impact hurricane matthew will have on north carolina. >> our major concern, too, if this thing stalls, we don't know what the impact would be if it stalls in south carolina. will we get some of the tail impact which we've had before in the south port, wilmington area? >> reporter: for now there are no more evacuations planned for eastern parts of north carolina. however, the governor and other state officials are still pleading with people to take in case there is any damage. live in raleigh, carleigh griffith, cbs north carolina. >> thank you. now, the storm is expected to approach florida's coast later today. governor scott suspended all tolls and. millions are forced from the coast. governor scott issued an emergency declaration in 26 counties, requesting federal resources already from

to evacuate, don't wait to evacuate get out now. >> -- evacuation of coastal communes around charleston prompted the state to implement lane reversal as thousands are forced out ahead of the storm. people are boarding up window in downtown charleston and a rush on gas stations in south carolina. governor nikki haley said there should be no concern for a fuel shortage and there have been no reports of price as the storm cross over haiti, cuba, and bahamas, at least ten people are dead in haiti and significant damage has been done in cuba and bahamas as it makes its way towards the southeastern part of the united states. we have been sending out push alerts any time there's a change in the forecast so sign up for them by downloading the weather app, available for free in the app store. switching gears to other news, yesterday an orange county jury heard gruesome

that killed three people, including a 6-year-old girl. chandler kenya is on trial for three count of second-degree murder after he got drunk and drove the wrong way down i-85 on 2015. both sides gave opening sides yesterday. witness testimony included driver who saw kenya driving before the crash as well as family members of the victims. the family said the crash victims were on their way home to charlotte after going to a family memorial service. >> yes, scattered on the pavement. >> kenya pleaded guilty to lesser charge in this case. if convicted on second-degree murder charges, he could spend up to 60 years in prison. testimony continues today and the trial is expected to last at least two week. scary moments in fayetteville after two men were

this is the seventh animal to test positive for rabies. this happened near methodist college. they jumped a fence before killing the animal with a golf club and branch. neither of the men was bitten on injured. here's ali warshavsky with the traffic. >> north of i- 40, moving well, a quiet start to your commute. on our maps, we have had a street, not slowing thing down so give crews time. if you're near them, move to the next lane. durham roads good. fayetteville, no accidents to report but hope mills -- the bridge on hope mills road is closed for emergency repairs thanks to last week's storm. northbound side at camden, your detour to turn to camden and left to the bypass.

flying out to major airports despite the storm. >> i doubt orlando will stay that way. >> i know. ali tweeted everything looks okay at rdu but check ahead. what do hurricane plane do?? >> we'll give you an inside

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morning. the good news is sunday morning is expected to be a bit weaker now, a category 1 storm and only really wilmington area included in that cone of air along the north carolina coast. looks like it would circle back to the south as a tropical storm as we head towards monday. again, no one here in central north carolina any longer included in that cone of uncertainty, something we'll continue to monitor. the next complete update is at 11:00 a.m. this morning. in the meantime, some of the expanded. you can see the hurricane warning for the entire eastern coast of florida extending into southern portions of georgia and hurricane watch expanded northward on the south carolina coast as well. bringing you closer to home, 62 raleigh, a cooler start to our day so kids will need the jacket. low 60s in clinton. cloudy skies will be around all

high with a few showers this afternoon so dig out the umbrella. you will need it today and possibly the next few day. more on the forecast and track of matthew in a bit. >> thanks for the heads up, alyssa. the time right now is 5:12. noaa hurricane hunters are vital to predict the path of storm and data collected by the team and meteorologists on the ground can help decide who needs to leave areas. scientists a dedicated at predicting the path of hurricanes. they fly the storm and drop measuring devices at predetermined points to collect information. it generates cone to predict the storm path. still to come, governor rick scott ordering evacuation ahead of hurricane matthew. still ahead, cbs reporter

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>> 51:50:00. millions of people in the southeastern u.s. coast are bracing for hurricane matthew. after hitting the bahamas, the storm is expected to regain strength and inch closer to florida later today where heavy rain, powerful wind, and storm surges are expected. a sheriff's sergeant has died after being shot in the face during a call. sergeant steven owen died while responding to survive. testimony continue in the trial of a former unc student who drove drunk and killed three people in a crash. he's on trial for three counts of second-degree murder and if convicted could spend 60 years in prison. raleigh police announced overnight scammers are posing as the department in order to take your money. law enforcement officers across the country have received

irs schemes. they convince people to make payments with prepaid debit calls. if you receive a call, hang up and call police. police in florida, georgia, and carolinas are bracing for matthew. it's pounding the bahamas and expected to gain strength as it moves towards the eastern seaboard. >> the first major hurricane to hit florida in 11 years could have heavy winds and rains. >> reporter: matthew roared through the bahamas, parts of florida became a post town. >> don't become a victim. make sure you get out tonight. >> reporter: people on the east coast fan heeding evacuation warnings yesterday, flocking to gas stations to fill up. >> i've driven around looking for gas and gas stations haven't had gas.

the past but this one, i think, will be much more dramatic. >> reporter: hurricane matthew is expected to regain strength over the next few hours. people along the florida coast should begin feeling its effects by tonight. >> we'll feel tropical storm force wind and could feel hurricane force wind for an extended period of time. >> the storm has already left a path of destruction in haiti people to stay out of the water. >> it's not a good time to go in the surf, be curious, be advent russ. >> reporter: beach erosion is expected in florida and south carolina before moving to sea this weekend. marley hall, cbs news, daytona beach, florida. >> hurricane matthew is blamed for 25 deaths. alyssa, you got an update

>> not good things with the latest track. it will improve our forecast. let's look at wind at 125 miles per hour moving northwest at 12 miles per hour and is south- southeast of nassau. it could be making landfall in nassau in the next hours and will quickly affect southeastern portions of florida. it could move over cape canaveral as we head into friday afternoon, wind at 145 miles per hour, very strong and category 4 hurricane. the east coast of florida has

jacksonville so this would not only set records there but again bring them devastating conditions to the east coast of florida. then it continues to sea to the coast of georgia and south carolina, staying to the coastline and good news for us and weakening at this time. wilmington now the only area in the state that's still under the cone of uncertainty. look at the u-shaped turn, weakening monday morning. it's not what we were thinking earlier in the week. we'll walk you through the forecast in a minute. 62 out of the raleigh durham international airport, quiet to

cloudy. temperatures fall for sure, 57 lewisburg, 56 south hill and durham, 63 in lillington and 60s through 8:00 a.m. 68 at lunchtime, around 71, five degrees cooler than where we should be. shower will sneak in around lunchtime. this is unsettled weather off the coast and is moving showers today and the majority of the day, friday. the rain you see in the afternoon is not necessarily going to be from hurricane matthew. i don't think outer band will arrive until friday evening

raleigh, 70 durham, 73 fayetteville. overnight tonight, it will be milder because those clouds will insulate us. 66 our low, isolated showers in the forecast. remember, most of the day on friday, the rain not associated with matthew arrives friday evening. saturday, that is matthew, arriving in our neck of the woods, rain likely for us, could accumulate to a few ins around the gusts 20-to 30-mile-per-hour range in the area. let's send it to ali with a check outside. good morning. a look at i-40 at harrison avenue, not too many headlights yet and those out there still moving the speed limit. we have a crash amon ferry road near forman street. we're not seeing any delays. travel through durham looks good, no accidents on the

moving well, local roads -- no incident there. hope mill road bridge -- i don't know why i can't say that this morning so turn to camden and then take the bypass. so far all these planes -- all the planes are flying on time especially orlando. miami and fort lauderdale flights have been canceled. i-440 at capital boulevard, not much to see on this friday eve. >> 5:22 in the morning. the carolina panthers on the practice field to get the season back on track and is way off track. we continue to track matthew. we'll have the updated

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bloomin' great! after last week's hit and concussion, cam newton still not cleared to practice. >> practice went on without him and todd gibson has highlight and gets the thoughts of all the player . >> reporter: the carolina panthers need to get things turned around quickly after limping out of the gate 1-3

against tampa bay days away and no one expected carolina to go 15-1. the panthers were thought of a super bowl contender and could be. the defense has been bad and offense off-kilter. it's just a matter of execution. >> it goes out there with miscommunication calls, you know, talking to each other, being accountable and doing our own job and, you know, as we come towards monday, you wish you could get it back. again, it will take all of us out there to know our role and do >> practice on wednesday. derek anderson got most of the snaps with newton not cleared to practice due to a concussion. the hurricane in action facing buffalo and saute st. marie. skinner getting game-winning shootout roll. the canes back at pnc arena friday at 7:30, hosting washington. that's your thursday morning sports. back to you. >> thanks a lot.

hour. i'm carleigh griffith and coming up, how plans to keep north carolina residents safe from hurricane matthew may be changing. plus before you head out the door this morning, we have the complete matthew forecast plus we're just now hearing about cancellations out of raleigh durham airport. stay with us. we'll give you updates as well plus all your traffic as you head out the door this

>> if matthew directly impacts florida, there will be massive destruction we have not seen in years. right now on cbs north carolina, hurricane matthew is expected to strengthen once again as it threatens parts of florida. >> i continue to ask the citizens of south carolina to pray for each other and to

from florida through south carolina, people are packing up and heading out of the storm's path. >> even though we're not in the direct path of the storm, state officials in north carolina are still preparing. what they're doing and alyssa corfont will have the latest path we got a half hour ago on matthew. good morning. thanks for watching north carolina news. i'm russ bowen. >> good morning, russ. good morning to you. i'm stefan chase. we begin with the latest on hurricane matthew. >> right now bahamas, everything shut down as police officers block the roads. forecasters expect it to strengthen. 2million people were told they needed to leave immediately. matthew will likely be the strongest hurricane to hit florida in more than a decade. >> for the latest impact, let's go to meteorologist alyssa corfont with more. >> good morning, guys, and good morning to you as well. this could be the strongest