CINCINNATI -- It's been a little over 9 years since we've seen a category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic Basin; Hurricane Matthew put an end to that lull this morning.
Hurricane Matthew briefly reached category 5 strength, the highest rating for tropical systems when sustained winds reach 157 mph or better.
Winds at that speed for even just an hour can cause catastrophic damage. Many framed homes would be destroyed, roofs would collapse, power outages could last for weeks or even months depending on the infrastructure and resources in place.
Luckily, Hurricane Matthew has weakened slightly this morning and looks to drop into a category 3 storm by the time it heads north for a rendezvous with the island of Jamaica near Kingston by late Monday.
The storm will likely continue northward in the following days, pushing into eastern Cuba by early Tuesday morning and into the Bahamas or potentially as far west as south Florida by early Thursday.
