<P> Originating from a tropical wave that emerged off Africa on September 22 , Matthew developed into a tropical storm just east of the Lesser Antilles on September 28 . It became a hurricane north of Venezuela and Colombia on September 29 , before undergoing explosive intensification , ultimately reaching Category 5 intensity on October 1 at just 13.4 ° N latitude -- the lowest latitude ever recorded for a storm of this intensity in the Atlantic basin , breaking the record set by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 . Matthew weakened slightly and fluctuated in intensity while making a northward turn toward the Greater Antilles , remaining a strong Category 4 hurricane as it made its first landfall over Haiti 's Tiburon Peninsula early on October 4 , and then a second one in Cuba later that day . Matthew weakened somewhat but re-intensified as it tracked northwest , making landfall in the northern Bahamas . The storm then paralleled the coast of the southeastern United States over the next 36 hours , gradually weakening while remaining just offshore before making its fourth and final landfall over the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge near McClellanville , South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane on the morning of October 8 . Matthew re-emerged into the Atlantic shortly afterward , eventually completing its transition into an extratropical cyclone as it turned away from Cape Hatteras , North Carolina on October 9 . The remnants of Matthew continued to accelerate towards Canada where it was absorbed by a cold front . </P>
<P> Originating from a tropical wave that emerged off Africa on September 22 , Matthew developed into a tropical storm just east of the Lesser Antilles on September 28 . It became a hurricane north of Venezuela and Colombia on September 29 , before undergoing explosive intensification , ultimately reaching Category 5 intensity on October 1 at just 13.4 ° N latitude -- the lowest latitude ever recorded for a storm of this intensity in the Atlantic basin , breaking the record set by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 . Matthew weakened slightly and fluctuated in intensity while making a northward turn toward the Greater Antilles , remaining a strong Category 4 hurricane as it made its first landfall over Haiti 's Tiburon Peninsula early on October 4 , and then a second one in Cuba later that day . Matthew weakened somewhat but re-intensified as it tracked northwest , making landfall in the northern Bahamas . The storm then paralleled the coast of the southeastern United States over the next 36 hours , gradually weakening while remaining just offshore before making its fourth and final landfall over the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge near McClellanville , South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane on the morning of October 8 . Matthew re-emerged into the Atlantic shortly afterward , eventually completing its transition into an extratropical cyclone as it turned away from Cape Hatteras , North Carolina on October 9 . The remnants of Matthew continued to accelerate towards Canada where it was absorbed by a cold front . </P>
what strength was hurricane matthew when it made landfall in south carolina
what strength was hurricane matthew when it made landfall in south carolina
a Category 1
a Category 1