Preston Payne tires to hold his umbrella as he watches the waves near the Tybee pier as Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the East Coast, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, on Tybee Island, Ga. Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the most powerful hurricane to menace the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade pushed north.
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See images of Hurricane Matthew. The storm weakened Friday slightly to a Category 3 with maximum sustained winds near 120 mph, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it's expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves closer to the coast into the weekend. Hurricane Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to more than a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared.
Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the most powerful hurricane to menace the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade pushed north. They warned, too, that the storm could still take a turn inland.
"It still has time to do a direct hit," Gov. Rick Scott said in the morning. "This is not over. ... It could be the worst part of this is yet to come."
A billboard canvas flaps in the wind after Hurricane Matthew passed off shore, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in North Palm Beach, Fla. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight with the strongest winds of 120 mph just offshore as the storm pushed north, threatening hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
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Waves from Hurricane Matthew crash against a bridge Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in St. Augustine, Fla. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds.
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Waves from Hurricane Matthew batter a boat dock Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in St. Augustine , Fla. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds.
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A car drives past a downed tree as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds.
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Trees sway from heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Matthew in front of Exploration Tower early Friday, Oct. 7, 2016 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Matthew weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds near 120 mph, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it's expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves closer to the coast.
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Bull River Yacht Club Dock Master Robert Logan leaves the dock after finishing up storm preparations as Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the East Coast, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the most powerful hurricane to menace the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade pushed north.
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Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.
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Electronic devices covered in mud stand outside an office destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.
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Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla.
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Wind and water from Hurricane Matthew batter downtown St. Augustine, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.
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