Matthew strengthens to a major hurricane: NHC

A satellite image taken September 30, 2016.

Source: NOAA

Hurricane Matthew has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale while moving west-southwestward over the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday.

Matthew was located about 495 miles (800 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h), the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

The center of Matthew will pass north of the Guajira Peninsula later Friday and remain over the central Caribbean Sea through early Sunday, the NHC said.