Than an eye opener. The message tonight, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. You can always repair property. You cannot restore a life if it is lost. Good evening. Newschannel8 is tracking Hurricane Matthew. We have coverage throughout the state. We begin with chief meteorologist steve jerve. He joins us now from the forecast center. This thing continues to be just a menace to floridas coast. Absolutely jen. Thats a category 3 hurricane forecast to become a 4. Especially on friday, affect floridas east coast. Some are estimating a landfall. Some say just offshore. It is still a concern. We will start with max defender 8. A few showers continue to pass across the area. Thats a live sweep picking up on showers in Hillsborough County at the moment. They are drifting rapidly to the southwest. You can see a few lightning strikes involved with that. But these are really not at as well. We expect that to get much more active the next 24 and 48 hours. 120 miles an hour winds. Hurricane warnings in place for much of floridas east coast. Further south of that, Tropical Storm warnings in place. We also have a Tropical Storm warning in place for sections of the bay area. The timing on this, friday at 2 00 a. M. Keeping in mind, the western side or just to the left of the storm, is where the weakest part of it is. Though, this is a major hurricane. Certainly, effects can come out, especially in the rain banding. Curving audiotape to the northeast, the computer models did a loop de loop today. We will see if the trend continues. There are warnings in place, the Tropical Storm warning from sumter, polk county. Hardy, and Highlands County meaning within 36 hours could see very strong wind gusts. Plan for that by taking in anything that may fly around expecting strong wind gusts on the western side of this system as it moves up floridas east coast. That track could change. We will continue to watch it. All right. Now lets head to meteorologist ian oliver. What is it looking like on floridas east coast at Palm Beach Shores . Reporter this is the final night of relative tranquility. As you look behind me, i count two op lounging out enjoying the last of this relatively quiet weather. It is already getting breezy here, the surf is starting to pick up. Most people very busy on our way in here, we saw a lot of folks headed west away from the beach. Evacuating the area. We saw a number of local Business Owners boarding up their businesses taking steps to prevent any damage to those. We had some folks that have been through this a few times around that are deciding to stay with their homes. Many people have generators because of what happened in 04 and 05. People are much better prepared. Reporter it is amazing the legacy left behind by that 2004 and 2005 seasons back to back with multiple major hurricanes. Then you remember while it has been over a decade since a major hurricane has struck the state of florida, this one will come dangerously close as we head on through the next le showing you the forecast track. Precariously close to the shoreline. Conditions are starting to go downhill. Im storm team 8 meteorologist ian oliver on floridas east coast. Back to you. Thank you ian. Up north, the mayor of jacksonville is urging residents on the coast to leave their homes and move further inland. The wind is already blowing and people there are beginning to fill the sandbags. In south florida, a hurricane county. While there is a Tropical Storm warning for miamidade. At this time, there are no mandatory evacuations for the counties, residents are waiting in long lines to fuel up and they are stocking up on supplies as well. Parts of cuba looking like a war zone. Police and soldiers are attempting to clear the streets of debris after Hurricane Matthew drove through that island. Dozens of homes are destroyed. And right new york city rescuers are trying to reach the hardest hit areas in haiti. The image heartbreaking. These are images of some of the damage. Haiti is cut off from communications. Matthew was the strongest hurricane to hit haiti in 50 years. Hurricane matthew made landfall there first, newschannel8s Candace Mccowan spoke to people anxious to get to the island nation to help. Reporter the children in the pictures feel like her own. She visited them many time she was there just last week. I wish i could be two places at the same time. Reporter bieras heart is broken as she awaits news of damage from Hurricane Matthew. Tammy is also trying to wrap her head around the duction she is seeing. She runs people for haiti. A group who provides medical missions. As of yesterday, we were thinking that we might have to go as early as monday. Reporter while many in florida ar matthew, these women are waiting and watching haiti. They dont know where their next meal is going to come from. They dont know how to find shelter. Reporter Candace Mccowan, newschannel8. Some Important News for parents in polk county. Schools are closed thursday and friday because of Hurricane Matthew. At the Emergency Operations center, crews are closely following the storms path. They say people liveing in mobile homes should consider going to a shelter. Family until matthew passes. Just flying debris. It will kill you. So take it seriously. Get your supplies ahead of time and you know, dont take no hurricane lightly. Tomorrow morning, a special needs shelter will open up at the department of health in bartow. Newschannel8 is helping you prepare. We have a list of sandbag locations, shelters, important emergency numbers right on our website, wfla. Com. Well, the florida Highway Patrol is making re moves smoothly as people evacuate south florida. Every single trooper will be out working to quickly clear accident scenes and watch for erratic drivers. Also, construction along i75 has been halted completely until the storm passes through. Troopers dont want anything to hinder the traffic as people try to evacuate. If we are going to be using our interstate to get people to a safe area, those roadways must be cleared. The storms pack. They are part of the Reaction Force team to stop situations like riots, but in situations like this, they assist Police Departments overwhelmed after a storm. Dont forget, you can track Hurricane Matthew on your smartphone with our storm team 8 weather max app any time. It is also free to download at the operation store. Still ahead. Hurricane season is here for another eight weeks or so. Coming up after the break, we will explain why october in particular is a month that is especially dangerous. Plus. Millions of gallons of raw sewage out of a broken pipe here. What is being done with the sewage and what is being done after an obscene amount was spent building this controversial courthouse, the state learned the contractor had overspent on framed photos that were never used. When the state refused to pay, bob buesing sued. Demanding taxpayers foot the bill, including his own legal fees. Now running for senate, buesing wants us to trust him with state spending. Youve got to be kidding. When i was one year old, i was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer on my spinal chord. But i spent my whole life fighting back. So you can imagine what i thought when i saw donald trump say. I dont know what i said, ah, i dont remember that reporter he is talking about suffers from a chronic condition that impairs movement of his arms. And thats not donald trump. Priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. New tonight, a school deskins escaped from deputies when they tried to arrest him for pawning stolen items. Deputies found him when he withdrew money from his bank account and the bank notified authorities. Though we are now in october, we are still in Hurricane Season. The storm team 8 meteorologist leigh spann shows us this month can be a very vulnerable time. Anything that looks like it is coming into the gulf of mexico probably is my worst nightmare. Reporter hurricanes are the kind of things that keep sally bishop up here in the Pinellas CountyEmergency Operations center, the eoc. Reporter she is the Emergency Management director for Pinellas County. They gather in this category 5 rated fortress. It is much easier to coordinate operations when you have someone here to do it face to face rather than over the phone. Reporter but if she has one message for you, it is this. Stay prepared for storms even as it gets cooler. It is actually the month to Hurricane Season as far as im concerned. It is our best opportunity to see a big storm land on the west coast of florida. Reporter here is why. The strong atlantic High Pressure can steer a hurricane through the strong waters of the caribbean and gulf allowing the storm to strengthen. What makes october unique is that cold fronts push into the gulf of mexico and can quickly turn a storm toward the west coast of florida. What can i be doing now in october to sort of stay well, besides the fact, making sure your kit is still intact, im actually thinking this is a good time of year to go out and look at some of the bigger projects you might want to tackle. Reporter new roofs, garage doors, window coverings, do it yourself options. There are more and more on the Market Options for window protection that a homeowner can manage themselves. That was meteorologist leigh spann reporting. Remember, Hurricane Season is not officially over until the car door. Thats the warning from nissan tonight. Coming up, the reason safety regulators are investigating thousands of cars. And we want you to get the best deals on hotels so just ahead, we will tell you the month you need to book your holiday stay. Also, dont forget, this years heart walk is coming up in november. But nows the time to join stacie schaibles team. Fuccilo kia again matching the first 50,000 we raise. This is medicine. Medicine. Uh. Medicine . With amendment 2, this is what medicine will look like pot, packaged like candy. Up to twenty times stronger than it once was. Marketed to kids. Sold next to schools. In nearly two thousand pot shops across florida. And no way to stop it. Unless you vote no on amendment 2. Im Hillary Clinton and i approve this message. Id look her right in that fat ugly face of hers. Shes a slob. She ate like a pig. A person whos flat chested is very hard to be a 10. Does she have a good body . No. Do you treat women with respect . I cant say that either. Marco rubio has the worst attendance record of any florida senator in 50 years. But its even worse when he shows up. Hes voted for a plan that would cut Social Security. And has said Social Security is bankrupting our country and has weakened us as a people. He wants to eliminate the department of education. Marco rubio. Its bad when he misses work. Its worse when he shows up. Senate majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. A recent news report claims it scanned millions of email accounts is yahoo claims the mail scanning in the article does not exist in its systems. It is something many of us do. Now, u. S. Safety regulators want us to be more careful. Nissan is investigating report thats side air bags can deploy in some nissan versa small cars if you shut your doors too hard. The Highway Traffic Safety Administration says they are looking at 155,000 cars from Prepaid Debit Card users. They are bringing back basic account protections. They will have to give information like balances for free. Fees will have to be displayed clearly on the packaging. That goes into effect next october. Pokimon go is getting people up an moving but there is concern they put the players in actual danger. In arizona, Officials Say two people went to the hospital in a single day. Truck playing and driving. Another person was hit in the street while catching pokimon. Experts stress the importance of paying attention to what is happening around you while playing the game. Booking a hotel for the holidays can be a headache, but according to trip adviser you can find rates 20 less than the highest annual prices if you book in november. Travelers can save the most if they book during thanksgiving tonight, we now know an estimated 1 million gallons of raw sewage gushed out of a broken pipe in palm harbor, it burst near a pumping station in omaha street. Two holes were discovered along a section of the pipe. The cause of the break is believed to have been a buildup of corrosive gases and possibly the failure of a vent valve. Chip osowski explains an army of tanker trucks is transporting the sewage the area. Reporter shortly of the spill was reported, we flew over the area. Sewage creeping into a number of backyards. The raw sewage was up to here. Reporter gus was one of them. Does it concern you . Yeah, it is a concern. I have young kids. I mean, you can still, you know, obviously still smell the aftereffects. So, definitely not good stuff. Tackling the problem, installing hoses to pump the polluted water out of the area hoping to limit exposure to neighborhoods and area waterways. Our crews have set up pumper trucks around the entire sewer shed. Reporter randy kim explains the water is being trucked to the Treatment Plant rather than pumped until the pipe is repaired. And we also had our construction inspector go door to door to to determine whether any of the spill encroached on any other backyards so we have a list of all those residents and our maintenance folks will be going out this morning to disinfect the areas. Wash them down. Reporter the only thing that doesnt stink about this entire mess is the county is responding quickly to it. In palm harbor, im chip osowski, newschannel8. Now, max defender 8, the and your storm team 8 forecast with chief meteorologist steve jerve. Relatively quiet. You can see the shower activity tyty is drifting here east to west. This sweep with the new radar. You can see the activity tyty here on the wave heights. We will continue to watch this on the eastern side. We mentioned the stronger winds. The waves will be a little higher. You can see very, very high seas over 20 feet asat Hurricane Matthew. As we look at the forecast winds over the next couple of days, winds will begin to increase thursday for central and south florida. The tampa bay winds will increase. This is thursday conditions there for friday at 3 00 a. M. You can see the strong winds coming around the northern side. With the eye oaf the center of the storm rideing the coastline south to north. Matthew will eventually pull away. That will change our wind direction. That will actually help to draw region. As we look at our wind speeds here over the next several days you can see how we will increase and the circulation around matthew coming easterly and northeasterly and eventually coming in from the northwest. That will help to draw in the wind conditions. The stronger winds will be on the eastern side as we talked about how generally, the stronger winds in this case with the advancing storm are off to the east. Thats a look at brandon. Mostly cloudy skies at tate. 76 degrees at 7 00 a. M. 88 degrees at 4 00 p. M. In the afternoon. Currently 83 in temple terrace. Seminole, 86, upper 70s , sun city center. Temperatures around the area, mostly 70s and 80s at the moment. The winds will continue to come in from the east, northeast, increasing the next several days. A gust to 22 miles an hour. In tampa, theres a look across the peninsula. Where we are relative to Hurricane Matthew. You can see the radar here you see the forecast track a couple of minutes ago. So windy conditions especially later thursday. And on into friday which appears to be the day most of the state of florida will feel the biggest effects. But really starting later tomorrow night. Temperatures will likely cool down just a little bit behind the storm. And, a cold front up the road. Some drier air expected for the early part of next week. You saw some of the longer forecast, the loop it was trying to do. Computers models jugged that could happen. But we plays out. You called it an anomaly. I call it dumb. Im not voting for that option at all. That looks pretty crazy. Why dont you just go away. We will watch the next 36 hours. Sounds like a lot could happen. Hurricane warnings in place for the east coast. Thank you. Well be right back. What if one of the Biggest Challenges we face down here. Could be solved. Simply by looking up there . What if unlimited, clean power was at your fingertips . What if it was good for consumers, good the economy and good for florida . Its not a what if. Its whats next. Solar power for the sunshine state. Vote yes on amendment 1. Wife our electric bill just keeps going up and up. Were doing everything we can. But it looks like duke energys not doing theirs. Husband paying for a plant thats never going to be built is just ridiculous. Narrator the duke utility tax is costing florida families. Ped them from collecting for a power plant that could never be built. Wife someone needs to stand up to duke energy. Narrator House Majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. After an obscene amount was spent building this controversial courthouse, the state learned the contractor had overspent on framed photos that were never used. When the state refused to pay, bob buesing sued. Bob buesing profitted from government waste and abuse . Now running for senate, buesing wants us to trust him with state spending. There is a home in connecticut capitalizing on fear with politically themed decorations which is terrifying if you ask me. The homeowner is a Political Science professor. He created a Haunted House but he is using Hillary Clinton and donald trump instead of ghouls and gore. You see Hillary Clinton chained to a donkey and trump screaming on a border wall. He is trying to get people to the shining is back for halloween. The classic horror flick based on a stephen king novel will return to select u. S. Theaters on october 23 and october 26. Well, picture of an Indianapolis Police officer with a little boy is going viral. Check this out. Sergeant precious corner jones was visiting a school for a high five rally when she spotted a sad little boy. He had just fallen, was having a bad day. So the officer got on the floor i just got down on the floor like hey buddy, whats wrong . He wasnt wailing or anything but the tearing were falling. I said it will be all right. See, sometimes that is just what you need. Somebody to lay on the floor with you. The sergeant says she love it is picture and will always keep it. That is pretty awesome. They do great work. In the community. They do. Did you hear, she was there for a highfive rally . I feel like we need a little bit of thank you my friend. At this point, we do. I mean, because we have a lot of stress right now. Matthew . We have to watch that the next 36 hours. Theres a look at the forecast track again. And, largely howl it affect it is bay area. We are on the weaker side. But that doesnt mean we cant see strong wind gusts. Potentially strong rain bands on the center. They can be enhanced by the heating of the day. Become very violent. Just to know that especially inland. You want to watch this. Take all the small stuff her total disappearing act. Is kim ditching public life after her night of terror in paris . Now on extra. Kim kardashian in hiding, scared into seclusion. The new report shes rethinking the life that made her kanye reemerging today. Why kims body guard is drowning in debt and filing for bankruptcy. And the new clue just discovered in paris that can help catch the thieves. Plus what Hillary Clinton just told me about kims big scare. Ive got a preview of her all new interview. Angelina and the kids in therapy. How theyre coping with the traumatic end of their parents five. Was it is surprise . When the doctor did the ultrasound Sarah Jessica parker rem premiering her tv return. Sex and the city, thats the first time ive ever said that. And the bella twins are here. If you think theyre hot, now on extra from universal capital of l. A. Hey, everyone, welcome to extra. Im mario lopez. We have a close up look at emma slaters unusual gem. And jon bon jovi breaks news about his new tour. Its been said Kim Kardashian is famous for being famous. But is it coming to an end . Kims scare in paris. Vanishing from sight, blaming herself for her night of terror. Kanye comes out of hiding. Her husband leaving their rented new york air b b refusing to answer questions. The first time either has been seen since they arrived home monday after the 11 million heist. The most instagramed woman in the world, the one who once pld nude selfies until i die. Remaining silent on social media after dropping a minutebyminute road map to her paris whereabouts. People magazine now reporting the rty sta quote, change everything, even how she travels. I gng t show you my bedroom for the night. Rumors she was it quitting her