US (FL): Industry members watch hurricane Matthew

At press time, the Society of American Florists was keeping a close eye on Hurricane Matthew, which has the potential to “hammer parts of eastern Florida and other parts of the Southeast coast starting Thursday and continuing into the weekend, according to experts at Weather.com.

According to Weather.com, the red-shaded area denotes the potential path of the center of the tropical cyclone. Note that impacts (particularly heavy rain, high surf, coastal flooding) with any tropical cyclone may spread beyond its forecast path.

“The severity of any direct impacts will depend on how close the center of Matthew moves near the coast,” according to the site. “All interests from Florida to coastal Georgia and the Carolinas should continue to monitor the forecast closely and make necessary preparations for a hurricane. Those in eastern Florida should make those preparations as soon as possible.” Just how much the storm will affect the floral industry supply chain and industry businesses in Florida and along the East Coast remains to be seen. As of about 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of Florida in Miami, hadn’t “heard anything from the truck lines regarding any changes in service.”

“Right now, there’s just a tropical storm warning,” she said. “I think most companies will want to protect their employees and make sure everyone is safe, so I don’t know how well staffed all of the companies will be for the next two days.”

Look for more coverage of the storm in next week’s issue.

Source: SAF.org