In short, we got lucky as hell. But that's not how longtime Miami resident Matt Drudge reads the story. As the worst potential impacts still lingered last night, Drudge took to Twitter to suggest the storm was a twisted government conspiracy:
The deplorables are starting to wonder if govt has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew intensity to make exaggerated point on climate
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) October 6, 2016
There are so many obviously incorrect points in those two tweets it's hard to know where to even start refuting them. Let's begin with the data, which is far from "monopolized" by the National Hurricane Center.Hurricane Center has monopoly on data. No way of verifying claims. Nassau ground observations DID NOT match statements! 165mph gusts? WHERE?
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) October 6, 2016
As any amateur meteorologist in Miami can tell you, Twitter and the web are flooded with independent data from dozens of satellites, computer models, and weather stations. In fact, it's probably safe to say most Floridians got their Matthew news from someplace other than the National Hurricane Center.
Second, what exactly would the government gain by pretending a hurricane was worse than it really was? Making an "exaggerated point on climate"? Wouldn't that point be immediately lost when people realized the storm wasn't that bad?
But there's also no doubt that Matthew was exactly as dangerous as everyone warned. The death toll from the hurricane in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and St. Vincent now stands at 478 people, and that figure will likely rise. In Cuba, the historic town of Baracoa was leveled.
Miami — and Florida as a whole — should be grateful we missed the worst of the storm. Just look at how close the storm's center came to the coast.
As for Matthew today, Miami's tropical storm warning was officially lifted at 5 a.m. by the National Hurricane Center, though gusting winds and some rain will likely stick around throughout Friday. The storm is still brushing along the Atlantic Coast, with a 100 mph gust recorded in Cape Canaveral this morning.#Matthew's most intense winds in the eyewall have remained just barely offshore so far... hoping that luck continues today/tonight! #florida pic.twitter.com/w23nfFn7ga
— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) October 7, 2016
And Miami probably isn't done with Matthew just yet. The NHC's latest models confirm that the "Loop Scenario" is real. Matthew will be back in our neighborhood next week, though likely as a far weakened tropical storm:
