A structure lays on the ground, brought down by the winds of Hurricane Matthew in Leogane, Haiti. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Matthew slammed into Haiti's southwestern tip with howling, 145 mph winds tearing off roofs in the poor and largely rural area, uprooting trees and leaving rivers bloated and choked with debris. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
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MIAMI (AP) - The Latest on Hurricane Matthew and Tropical Storm Nicole (all times local):
5:10 a.m.
Forecasters say Hurricane Matthew has gained new muscle over the Bahamas and they are also expanding the hurricane warning area further up the Southeast Atlantic seacoast from Florida into Georgia.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Matthew's top sustained winds have risen from 115 mph (185 kph) to 125 mph (205 mph) in just a few hours early Thursday as the storm continues to batter the central Bahamas.
The center says it is extending a hurricane warning area already covering a large swath of Florida's Atlantic coast further northward to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. It also says a newly expanded hurricane watch now extends from the Altamaha Sound up the coast to the South Santee River in South Carolina.
The center added in its 5 a.m. Thursday update that Matthew should gain further in intensity over the next day or so and is forecast to become a Category 4 storm as it approaches Florida's Atlantic coast.
Matthew's center is now about 255 miles (410 kilometers) southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida, and moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) over the Bahamas.
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2 a.m.
Forecasters say Hurricane Matthew is now pounding portions of the Central Bahamas and is expected to strengthen as it approaches Florida.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew remains a powerful Category 3 storm with top sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) as of 2 a.m. EDT Thursday. It added that Matthew is expected to intensify over the next day or so and is forecast to again become a dangerous Category 4 hurricane as it nears Florida's Atlantic coast.
Matthew was briefly a very dangerous Category 5 storm on its march across the Caribbean. By early Thursday, Matthew was centered about 295 miles (480 kilometers) southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida. It also was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south-southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas.
The Miami forecasting center said no changes have been made to the existing hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches as of 2 a.m. EDT.
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11:15 p.m. Wednesday
The eye of Hurricane Matthew was nearing the Bahamas on Wednesday night, and forecasters expect it to intensify and again become a Category 4 storm as it approaches Florida on Thursday.
The hurricane warning area was expanded Wednesday night to include the rest of Florida's east coast north of Daytona Beach.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami also issued a hurricane watch for north of the Savannah River on the Georgia-South Carolina state line to Edisto Beach, South Carolina. The entire Georgia coast was already under a hurricane watch.
A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the area within 36 hours. A hurricane watch means the conditions are possible in the area within 48 hours.
Lance Gilliam, a Palm Beach native who moved to the Savannah area two years ago, surfs waves on the north end of Tybee as effects of Hurricane Matthew are already being seen in a larger and rougher tide, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 in Tybee Island, Ga. Hurricane Matthew was on track to rake Florida before spinning up the East Coast. The Category 4 storm packing winds of 145 mph pummeled parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Tuesday and is expected to head north over Cuba and the Bahamas before nearing the Florida coast by Thursday. (Josh Galemore/Savannah Morning News via AP)
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Yorick Bain uses a drill to secure plywood over the windows of a Dunkin Donuts store in downtown Nassau, Bahamas, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The demand for materials such as plywood and sand caused many businesses to post "sold out" signs as residents moved about the island preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Matthew which is is expected to impact all the islands of the Bahamas in the coming days on its way towards the Florida coastline. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)
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A resident runs in as flooded street as Hurricane Matthew roars over Baracoa, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The dangerous Category 4 storm blew ashore around dawn in Haiti. It unloaded heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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The high winds and rain of Hurricane Matthew roar over the waterfront of Baracoa, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The dangerous Category 4 storm blew ashore around dawn in Haiti. It unloaded heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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The high winds of Hurricane Matthew roar over Baracoa, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The dangerous Category 4 storm blew ashore in Haiti, unloading heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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A wave crashes into a building on the waterfront in Baracoa, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The dangerous Category 4 storm blew ashore around dawn in Haiti. It unloaded heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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Jahvez Roberts loads sand bags into the trunk of a car for a customer at Roberts Trucking company in the Eastern district of Nassau, Bahamas, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The rock and sand depot was overwhelmed by the demand of residents who fear widespread flooding throughout the island of New Providence as Hurricane Matthew threatens the entire Bahama Island chain. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)
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Andrell Dames loads sand into bags for customers at Roberts Trucking company in the Eastern district of Nassau, Bahamas, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The rock and sand depot was overwhelmed by the demand of residents who fear widespread flooding throughout the island of New Providence as Hurricane Matthew threatens the entire Bahama Island chain. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)
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A man runs from a wave at the waterfront in Baracoa, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The dangerous Category 4 storm blew ashore around dawn in Haiti. It unloaded heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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A structure lays on the ground, brought down by the winds of Hurricane Matthew in Leogane, Haiti. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Matthew slammed into Haiti's southwestern tip with howling, 145 mph winds tearing off roofs in the poor and largely rural area, uprooting trees and leaving rivers bloated and choked with debris. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
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Beth Johnson fills up her car after waiting in line at a Sunoco gas station in advance of Hurricane Matthew in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Hurricane Matthew is expected to affect the South Carolina coast by the weekend. Gov. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday to help get 1 million people inland from the coast. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
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A couple embrace standing among the debris of their home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba overnight, destroying dozens of homes in Cuba's easternmost city, Baracoa, leaving hundreds of others damaged. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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Red Cross workers and residents walk among the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba overnight, destroying dozens of homes in Cuba's easternmost city, Baracoa, and leaving hundreds of others damaged.(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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A woman cries amid the rubble of her home, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba overnight, destroying dozens of homes in Cuba's easternmost city, Baracoa, leaving hundreds of others damaged. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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A man talks on his cell while searching for belongings amid the rubble of his home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba overnight, destroying dozens of homes in Cuba's easternmost city, Baracoa, leaving hundreds of others damaged. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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The high winds of Hurricane Matthew roar over Baracoa, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The dangerous Category 4 storm blew ashore in Haiti, unloading heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
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A woman carries a child through a waterlogged street as they head to a shelter under the pouring rain triggered by Hurricane Matthew in Leogane, Haiti, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Matthew slammed into Haiti's southwestern tip with howling, 145 mph winds tearing off roofs in the poor and largely rural area, uprooting trees and leaving rivers bloated and choked with debris. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
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Remodeler Gil Patrick, left, boards the windows and doors of Michael Kitchens residence on Butler Avenue on Tybee Island, Ga., Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News via AP)
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Edgard San Juan, a maintenance worker with the Live Oak Public Libraries, boards the windows Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, on their branch located on Tybee Island, Ga., in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News via AP)
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Patrons wait in line for gas at the Costco store in Altamonte Springs, Fla. as central Floridians prepare for the anticipated strike of Hurricane Matthew, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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Shoppers enter the Costco store in Altamonte Springs, Fla., as central Floridians stock up on supplies ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Matthew, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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Shoppers crowd the entrance as they wair for the Costco store in Altamonte Springs, Fla., to open as central Floridians stock up on supplies ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Matthew, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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Ron Davidson, owner of Exclusively Coastal, an ocean-inspired gift shop in Vero Beach, puts up hurricane shutters in advance of Hurricane Matthew on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (Molly Bartels/The Stuart News via AP)
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Employees of Siam Orchid restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Fla., board up the front of the restaurant Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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Billy Conley lifts a piece of plywood to place over a window of a business in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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Jeff Beebe, of Cape Canaveral, Fla., fills gasoline containers, to be later used for his generator, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida. Beebe is evacuating his home along with his 80 year old parents to Orlando. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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Thomas Carrigan, bar manager at Siam Orchid restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Fla., works to board up the front of the restaurant, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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