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New Day

Hurricane Matthew's Eyewall Within Miles of Florida Coast. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 07, 2016 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: So let's get to Jennifer Gray right now. The duration, you keep telling us, Jennifer, people should know that while the storm hasn't been as catastrophic yet, there's still a long way to go.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. We're just -- just at the beginning phases, Chris, as this continues to crawl up the coastline. We were mentioning those wind gusts reported just north of us of about 100 miles per hour. We had wind gusts of at least 80 miles per hour; and it's still going, and we've been feeling these very strong gusts for more than an hour now.

And so, just the repetitive nature of these gusts just going and going and a long duration of them. That's what could cause that devastation. You know, and on top of the wind, we talk about the storm surge. And that's going to be a huge problem with this as these winds continue to just push inland, pushing all of that water inland up those -- into those intercostal waterways. The lagoons, the rivers.

And so that's why it's going to be a huge concern, as well as those mandatory evacuations were ordered all up and down the coast and do it. We know that a lot of people evacuated here in Brevard County, which is a great sign. We know that a lot of the shelters are full, because emergency crews can't get to you. They can't get out in this.

And so, they have to wait until the storm passes. And then, you know, by then who knows what they will find. And so that's why it's so important to get out ahead of the storm.

Chris, we're going to still be in this. We're still going to be beaten around for the next couple of hours before we start to get out of this system. But it is going to inch closer and closer to you throughout the day, and I think the storm surge is really concerning me for -- for you, as well as the damaging winds, Chris.

CUOMO: So, I want you to explain to me, Jennifer, the impact of what it means for this to be a wet storm. I got a message from one of the meteorologists that we're using who said, you know, gave me that line. Matthew is big, slow and a long way to go. And it's a very wet storm. What does that mean?

GRAY: Yes. It's a lot of rain. It's going to be a lot of rain with this storm. And you know, when you have storms like this, you want them to move out quickly. You don't want them to sit on top of you. You don't want it to move very slowly. Because that's just going to bring more and more rain with it, and that's just going to add to the problem when you have flooding.

You're also going to have that storm surge. And we say all the time that, you know, you can't just focus on the wind. We categorize these storms by their winds, but we lose more lives because of the water. The water is so deadly. That storm surge that pushes in, we're talking 7 to 11 feet of storm surge around where we are. And where you're going to be, as well. Where the state just kind of tucks in right there north of Jacksonville, as well. The coastline of Georgia and South Carolina.

It's a very vulnerable part of the East Coast when you're talking about storm surge, shallow water there that's all going to be pushing inland. And then if you have on top of that a system that's going to dump a lot of rain, it's just going to make matters worse, Chris.

CUOMO: We just got an emergency alert on our phones not too long ago the hurricane is headed this way. It's many hours from now. I'm getting a lot of messages on social media from people in and around Jacksonville, saying, "Boy, I'm glad Matthew wasn't worse." It's not here yet. This is the St. Johns River. It's one of the only cuts in the coastline. That means that storm surge is going to get forced into this area in a concentrated fashion. It's going to get a lot more urgent in Jacksonville. So, please, stay home, stay safe. Jennifer, we'll check back with you.

Boris Sanchez is in Daytona Beach. It's been getting hammered. Big gusts of winds, lightning. He's had to move his shot to stay safe and let's check in with him right now. Boris, the latest?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Chris. Just a few moments ago, we got hit with another huge gust of wind. We've had debris coming into the loop here in our hotel. A huge sheet of metal just swooped by us, fortunately, didn't hit anyone. We got it out of the way.

But yes, this wind just keeps getting stronger and stronger, and the rain is just going sideways at this point. Chris, from what we can tell, the lights are still on, at least down the street from us. But we have seen several power flashes. And at one point, we saw what appeared to be sparks coming off of a light post.

So far so good. At least that's the message from the chief of police here in Daytona Beach. At least about two hours ago for the most part we've seen minimal damage. There is a lot of debris in the street, though. It's still a very dangerous situation, but at least so far, it doesn't appear that there is a tremendous amount of damage.

Obviously, all of that can change as the storm gets closer and closer, especially when you consider that storm surge that's expected to hit six or seven feet. When I woke up this morning and I looked outside, the water was already at the limit of our hotel. Right at the wall of our hotel.

So, to consider that it's going to keep rising and get stronger and stronger. The water is certainly going to come into these neighborhoods and cause more problems, Chris.

[07:05:00] CUOMO: All right, be safe and be aware, my friend. And we still have a long way to go, because the storm is moving so damn slowly. Less than ten miles an hour.

Let's check in with Dr. Rick Knabb. He's at the National Hurricane Center. He's been tracking this. And in terms of expectations, Doctor, how are we doing so far?

DR. RICK KNABB, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, the center of circulation has generally been moving where we said the last couple days it would be near and close to the East Coast of Florida. But one thing I want to really emphasize here is just because the center of circulation is off shore doesn't mean that you can't be the center of action. You could still get life-threatening storm surge, life- threatening inland flooding and hurricane-force winds in northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Don't all of a sudden start taking a sigh of relief and not take preparedness actions, because you're counting on the center staying off shore. The closer this gets to the coast, the worse the conditions will be, but it's going to be close enough that you still need to evacuate if officials have told you to go and they're still telling you it's time to go. You need to go now. It could save your life.

CUOMO: Doctor, I've got a little bit of a sneaking suspicion I want you to speak to for people who are watching us right now in and around this area that now the new advisory has been getting more concentrated impact later.

I'm seeing a lot more cars than I expected of people zipping around. And I think it's because thus far, you know, it's not as intense here in Jacksonville, other than some gusts up in the upper 30s that we've had.

But what will come here, especially with this funnel effect, because the St. Johns River here behind us is one of the only cuts in the eastern coastline in this part of the state. And that means there could be a concentration of water that comes through. What do people need to be aware of here?

KNABB: OK. First thing talking to folks in the Jacksonville area, the first coast region, St. Johns River region. The weather is just now beginning to go downhill. It's going to get a lot worse before it has a chance of getting better.

And I want to show you that, even though the center of circulation is off shore, we are still issuing prototype storm surge warnings that go up the East Coast of Florida into coastal Georgia and South Carolina, and it includes downtown Jacksonville. It includes the St. Johns River. This is not just going to be a storm surge event, potentially, along the immediate beach of the Atlantic coast.

It could push water onshore into the St. Johns River. This is going to be the direction of the wind on the northern side of the hurricane, and this is a big hurricane. Not just a strong one. It's fully capable of pushing the ocean around and pushing the waters into Jacksonville area and St. Johns River. So, you don't have to have landfall in the center for that to occur.

CUOMO: And in terms of what that will mean, you know, we set up here in Jacksonville, hoping that I'd be able to have, you know, a steady hand here for the duration.

Now, the advisory shifted. We'll probably have to move our location, because the river is already right up at the top of the promenade here. It's got four hours, four feet of tide expected if it were a normal situation, let alone all the storm surge that's going to come.

And the emergency authorities and the local authorities, the mayor here, they keep saying they won't be able to get to people. That that message has to get through. How long could people have to stay on their own if this goes the wrong way?

KNABB: Well, not only can you find yourself trapped in an area where the conditions are bad for a long time, the strong wind and the heavy rains. But if there's damage, and authorities are having trouble getting around the areas because the roads are blocked or if they're having to respond to other people who've been affected, they might not be able to get to you for quite a while.

So you don't want to find yourself in an isolated location where, not only could you die as the result of the flooding from storm surge or heavy rainfall causing flash flooding, but if you survive that, something else could happen to you. A car accident, you're injured, and authorities can't get to you.

You have to evacuate if you're told to go. It could save your life. And you just mentioned, you might have to change your location. What an excellent example that would show everybody. That if you're evacuating, this is what evacuation looks like. Come with me, let's get out of here.

CUOMO: Absolutely. And they are telling us here, the local authorities, that the shelters are near capacity, but that doesn't mean that you can't go.

The Salvation Army is making extra accommodations. The mayor here and his staff are very aggressive. They've been on this from the beginning. They're making accommodations. So please, take the advisors seriously. Our phones were just going off. I'm sure you're getting it, as well. Make your way to shelters, make your way to safety, especially here.

Dr. Rick Knabb, as you know, thank you for being with us. We'll check back with you later.

Jacksonville is a bridge city. There are lots of bridges, like this one behind us. Over 45 miles an hour, the bridge is shut down. So right now, while it's mild -- when it changes, you will not have the ability to get around like you do right now. Take that into consideration, as well. All right, we're showing you a picture of where it's getting hit its

hardest here around the state, Alisyn. You know, again, that line that I got from one of these meteorological pros, Matthew is big and slow and has a long way to go.

[07:10:09] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Chris, we are going to bring in an incredible guest right now, who has incredible video that everybody should look up at their screens. Oh, it's Chad Myers. Wow. What an intro that I'm giving you, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're right.

CAMEROTA: I was going -- I was about to go to a hurricane hunter, and we will go to him in one second. But, Chad, do you want to give us the latest on how far away the eye is?

MYERS: Well, I just want to tell Chris. He has 15 minutes to batten down the hatches. Because as he talked about, hey, there's a lull right now. Here's the lull. That's the blue, the light rain. There is a batch of heavy rain coming at him, and 15 to 20 minutes, Chris. You need to be ready for a wind gust probably in excess of 60.

CAMEROTA: All right. Chad, thank you very much. I'm sure that Chris is heeding your warnings to batten down the hatches.

Now, we want to bring in Richard Henning. He is a meteorologist and a flight director from NOAA's hurricane hunters and believe it or not we're joining him at 45,000 feet up in the sky. Richard, are you in a plane flying into the storm?

RICHARD HENNING, METEOROLOGIST (via phone): Yes, good morning. Can you hear me?

CAMEROTA: I can, Richard. What are you seeing?

HENNING: Well, good morning to everyone. Good morning to all your viewers. I'm talking to you from a gulf stream jet flying at 45,000 feet. We're in the middle of an eight-hour mission, where we're sampling the environment around the storm and across the top of the storm.

We're dropping what we call drops-on instruments, which are sort of the opposite of a weather balloon. Weather balloons go up. What we do is we drop instrument packages that fall down. They fall by parachute, take about 15 minutes to reach the surface. And they measure pressure, temperature, humidity and all the other important meteorological variables. And all this data gets fed into the computer models that help determine the track of the storm.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. Richard, I mean, we are watching your video. As you're speaking, we're watching your video, and I have to tell you: your job and what you are living is many of our worst nightmare of flying through that turbulence that we just saw you fly through. And then I guess at the eye, in the eye, it opens up and it just looks like sort of a cloudy day. HENNING: Yes. Yes. Right now we're flying in the Gulf of Mexico.

We just crossed the southern peninsula of Florida. We're going to drop about nine more instruments in the Gulf of Mexico because, again, we're measuring essentially what we call the steering currents that influence the track of the storm. We flew out in the Atlantic several hundred miles east and northeast of the storm and now we're heading out into the gulf to make more measurements.

Essentially, if you can imagine a hurricane as a block of wood floating in a stream, what we're doing is we're measuring the stream. We're measuring the currents, the kind of things that would affect where that block of wood is going to go. So, if you could imagine a hurricane being that block of wood, that's what we're doing. Trying to make the models that everybody relies on so much these days as accurate as possible. To get that forecast track as accurate as possible for the hurricane center.

CAMEROTA: I mean, Richard, you are taking one for the team with your work and what you're doing there. Can you just tell us what it feels like inside your plane, because we're looking at the video, where you're being batted around and we see the windshield pelted with, I guess, intense rain. But it just looks like some of the scariest turbulence that any of us have ever experienced on a commercial flight.

HENNING: I would say, it's a different view of the storm from up here. From up at 45,000 feet. We actually fly two different aircrafts. We fly the P-3 that actually goes through the teeth of the storm into the eyewall down at 10,000 feet. And then we fly this aircraft across the top of the storm and surrounding the storm up at a much higher altitude.

So, it gives a different vantage point. We get the top of the storm, and the P-3 gets the bottom of the storm.

CAMEROTA: So are you saying that you are able to kind of circumvent the storm by going at 45,000 feet?

[07:15:05] HENNING: I'm sorry. I didn't hear -- I didn't hear your question. I'm talking to you on a satellite phone. So, it's a little bit hard to hear you. But if you could repeat your question.

CAMEROTA: You mean, Richard, that it's hard to hear me when you're flying at 45,000 feet in an airplane that's going through a hurricane? Wow, I thought that we had the technology for that. But, what I'm saying, Richard...

HENNING: Yes. Yes, I'm actually talking to you through a -- through a satellite back to the -- from the aircraft through a satellite back to the earth.

CAMEROTA: Richard. It's actually working better than our satellites that we have with Chris Cuomo, who's on earth in Jacksonville.

But, Richard, just explain to me what the sensation is? Are you saying that, at 45,000 feet, you fly above the storm? Because the video that we're watching of you and/or your colleague is flying right into it.

Richard, can you hear me?

HENNING: Again, it's a little bit difficult to hear you right now. The reception is not so good on my end.

But, I guess the one thing I wanted to make sure everybody realizes is that this is still a very dangerous storm with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, well in excess of 100 miles per hour. And the folks up in the northern end of Florida are still under the gun. The folks in Georgia and South Carolina need to heed all of the warnings of their local emergency management folks, because all the data that we've gathered over the past several days indicates that this is still a very dangerous storm.

And the air folks in central Florida may have caught a little bit of a break with the storm making a slight turn to the right. (AUDIO GAP)

CAMEROTA: All right, well, as you -- Richard, gosh, thank you so much for your video. And for all the information and for the work that you do so that everyone on the ground, all the meteorologists can track this storm in as effective a way as they can. We wish you best of luck and look forward to you being back on terra firma, because your video is intense, Richard. Thanks so much for sharing it -- sharing it with us.

HENNING: Well, thank you. Thank you so much. And good luck to everyone in -- good luck to everyone in Georgia, South Carolina and the other places that may be affected by the storm over the next couple of days. And God bless you all.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you, too, Richard.

And great reminder, Chris, that he just gave us there of just how intense it is. It is not over. They are the ones who are gathering all the data, and they see that it is headed towards you, obviously, there in Jacksonville. And then, of course, to Georgia and South Carolina, as well. Wow, what a job he has -- Chris.

CUOMO: Yes. You know, but the key word there is it is his job. You know, one of the difficulties about a hurricane is that it is such a spectacle. It's something to behold. It creates such excitement. There's an entertainment value in it.

When you are where you are, the problem is when that instant transfers to people who are in the way of this storm, it becomes a deadly curiosity. And that's one of the things that the local authorities are trying to drum in. Yes, the big winds and what it does and those effects. Watch it on television from somewhere safe. Don't stay to see it yourself.

And that may sound obvious, but a lot of people are not heeding that warning. We're seeing the costs of that already.

Let's check in right now with Chief Michael Chitwood from Daytona Beach Police there. Chief, we heard from Boris Sanchez, our correspondent down there, that

he did see some folks playing the fool out in the storm to get as close as they could. We know you don't want that. How is it going so far overall?

CHIEF MICHAEL CHITWOOD, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE (via phone): Well, our black period is going to be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. That's when the storm is going to intensify its most, we're being told. Right now, we've had some minor damage and minor flooding on the beach side. Tops of gas stations have been ripped off and tree limbs are down and some power failures.

But the next four hours are going to be really, really crucial for us.

CUOMO: And how are you doing so far in terms of how the precautionary measures are holding up and how people are faring, if they did stay behind?

So far, we're faring quite well. We are quite vocal. I've been out on the streets until 3 p.m. this morning until just now, and if someone needed help, we could absolutely positively get there to help them.

We did have one fool who thought it would be kind of cool to take his pickup truck out and do wheelies down A1A and over one of our main bridges, and he's been subsequently arrested for that.

But other than that, the streets are quiet, and we want people to stay indoors. And 9 to 2 p.m. is going to be our big hit here, and we're keeping our fingers crossed.

[07:20:10] CUOMO: Look, there's no cure for stupid. In your job, you know that better than most. But at least that guy's in a safe situation right now. From 9 to 2, you won't be able to go and get people, though. And people have to understand they're not just exposing themselves to risk. They're taking first responders with them if they put themselves in a bad position.

CHITWOOD: Absolutely. Within the last hour, the winds have really picked up, and most of us now are out in heavy-duty pickup trucks. And you could feel when you're going over a bridge. You could feel the truck start to sway side to side. So, when the full brunt of this storm hits us, we will not be able to get you off that peninsula.

CUOMO: And you introduce an interesting feature of where you are, also. Like in Jacksonville, you're a little bit of a bridge city there. You know, people have a lot of those overpasses to deal with, and they become really hazardous to go through. And a lot of them here in Jacksonville shut down at 40, 45 miles per hour. That mean if you make a wrong choice, your -- now your ability to correct and get out of there is limited, right?

CHITWOOD: Absolutely. Absolutely. Our big fear is the storm surge. You know, we have the intercostal waterway on one side of the peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. High tide, I believe, is around 1 p.m. today, which will coincide with when the storm is at its height. And that's what we're really worried about.

And people don't seem to understand what that storm surge is like. It's flash flooding. I mean, you could be walking down the street in one minute. The next minute you could be wiped away and be sucked out into the ocean.

CUOMO: How about the worst kind of thing that can be fallout here on the human level, which is crimes of opportunity? Have you heard about any looting or any opportunists trying to get in there and take advantage?

CHITWOOD: We have been in really good shape. I don't want to jinx us. But like I said, we've been out. Patrols have been out. There is very, very little vehicular traffic, and there is virtually no foot traffic.

So, you know, the key for us and we believe what's going to happen between 9 and 2. If we can escape a lot of devastation, I think we'll knock that way down, because we have -- every police officer is on duty tonight. Is on duty, has been on duty and will continue to remain on duty.

CUOMO: Well, we know that you always put the citizens first. And we appreciate that. Please know that we are here to help get the word out if there's information you need. If there's anything we can do with who we have on scene, let us know. You know how to get us.

Chief, please be safe. Thank you.

CHITWOOD: Hey, I can tell you, you guys getting the word out consistently and pummeling the airways with how dangerous this was, I think it made our job a little bit easier so far.

CUOMO: Well, good. Let's hope it stays that way. We'll be in touch.

Alisyn, back to you.

CHITWOOD: Thank you. Be safe up there.

CAMEROTA: You, too, chief. Chris will be back with you in a second.

We do want to bring in Chad Myers, our chief meteorologist, to explain the track of it. Chad, were you listening to that NOAA hurricane hunter who was saying that they -- I mean, you saw that video. They fly into the hurricane. They track winds of 100 miles per hour while they are in that little plane. I mean -- just so that we can have the data that you rely on. Wow.

MYERS: You know, and there's another plane in it right now flying through it. He's in the jet above it. But there's another P-3 who is talking about flying through it right now, gathering data, telling us what the pressure is, what the maximum wind speeds are, and what to expect from here. And without those hurricane hunter aircraft, we would have no idea. Even my wife yesterday said, why do they fly through it? I said, "Because without it, we would never know the pressure."

Because there are no weather balloons to launch out there. There's nothing out there to give us more information than this plane core punching the storm. They don't core punch it with a jet, because the jet could flame out. They core punch these storms with propeller planes.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

MYERS: I had the opportunity to go up, and I've said no.

CAMEROTA: Because you're sane.

MYERS: Because I have an 11-year-old. That was a -- those are dangerous flights.

CAMEROTA: Oh, gosh.

MYERS: We've never lost one, but those are bumpy flights.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, look, he was very sanguine about his job and explaining it. So tell us the data that you now have as a result and what you're seeing.

MYERS: What we usually talk about, and you know, we've been on the air straight now for, like, 12 hours is a storm that comes onshore. And it's onshore and two hours later it's dead.

This isn't that storm, Alisyn. This storm has stayed in the Gulf Stream and will continue to stay in this very warm water all the way up to Jacksonville.

This is still hours away from doing any real damage in Jacksonville. Hours away from making real storm surge in Savannah and Taivi (ph) and on up into St. Simons Island. So this is just a long duration on the air all the time. Wind speeds are still 100 miles per hour. Oak Hill, Oak Hill is the real first community north of the seashore here. This is all national seashore. So no one getting hit really hard right now on the ocean side. But it's all national seashore. No people, no buildings, no houses.

[07:25:17] But right there is Oak Hill. That is the first neighborhood before you get to new Smyrna, which is about to get hit with 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts. These are the first real, I think, significant damage areas we're going to see from the storm. Because it's still moving along the coast, heading towards Daytona. We have reporters all the way up and down the coast to show you as that happens.

But for now, it's offshore. That's good news. We will still see those 100-mile-per-hour winds, Alisyn. Right along the shore, that's the red line right through here, it will even get to 100 or very close into Taivi (ph) and Charleston and maybe all the way up to Hilton Head.

So this storm is -- I don't want to say it's not over. This storm is just beginning, because we have another probably 10 to 12 hours before it even gets to our Chris Cuomo's location.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. OK, great reminder and warning, Chad, for everyone. We are going to go to the ground and see what is happening there with Hurricane Matthew as soon as NEW DAY comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Chris Cuomo here in Jacksonville, Florida. The weather advisory has been shifted to make this area the part of Florida that is expected to get the most intense impact from Hurricane Matthew.