Hurricane Matthew (2016, Garfield's Scenario)

Hurricane Matthew was a very intense, late season hurricane that caused tons of damage and fatalities. It was the costliest storm since Sandy, and the strongest since Felix. The storm was known for extreme damage in Bermuda and Nova Scotia, as well as the Caribbean.

Formation
A Tropical Wave exited the coast of Africa on September 21. The NHC instantly recognized the system and gave it a 20% chance of development. As future Matthew moved further west, the NHC increased the chances, and on September 27, Tropical Depression Fourteen developed west of the Leeward Islands. It rapidly intensified into Tropical Storm Matthew the next day. The storm continued this trend, making landfall on Puerto Rico as a 75 mph hurricane.

Intensification
After Puerto Rico, Matthew moved out to sea, and underwent explosive intensification due to warm waters and minimal shear. It became 165 mph on October 1, the fastest wind speeds since Hurricane Felix 9 years before. It weakened slightly to 155 mph as it narrowly missed a Bermuda landfall, buffeting the island with very strong winds and tons of rainfall. 50 people were carried out to sea by the storm surge, and another 27 perished when a bus slipped off the road into the ocean. Matthew continued the weakening trend, becoming 115 mph by October 3.

Final landfall and Dissipation
On October 4, Hurricane Matthew made landfall near Nova Scotia as a 105 mph C2. Although weaker Matthew caused catastrophic damage, and tons of flooding. 3 people were killed when their car was crushed by a tree, and 24 more were carried to sea or drowned. As Matthew moved into Canada, it continued to bring strong winds, causing 4 more fatalities. Matthew finally became extratropical in the shield, and the convection dissipated on October 6. Matthew was the deadliest and strongest storm in years.

Retirement
Due to severe damages and the storm's intensity, the name Matthew was retired in the spring of 2017. The name that will replace it in 2022 is Maxwell.