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The NHC website is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
It is possible that the heavy traffic and significant interest in information caused the crash
Category 3 hurricane makes its way toward the southeastern US, forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency

Published: 00:34 EST, 7 October 2016 | Updated: 02:16 EST, 7 October 2016

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As anxious Americans seek more information late Thursday about the potentially catastrophic hurricane that is slowly making its way toward the southeastern United States, the official government-run website responsible for tracking the fierce storm crashed.

The National Hurricane Center’s site crashed at around midnight eastern standard time late Thursday, even as Hurricane Matthew barrels toward the eastern seaboard.

The site, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suffered an apparent technical glitch, according to the National Weather Service.

Internet users who tried to log on to the National Hurricane Center's website late Thursday were given an error message like the one above

The southeastern US is being pelted with heavy rains while the deadly Category Four storm steamed ever closer to the coast with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the website, tweeted that it is trying to fix the glitch that caused it to crash

The National Hurricane Center's Atlantic Ops Twitter feed is working and is providing up-to-date information on the latest developments

The site could not have shut down at a worse time, as a state of emergency has been declared in the Florida panhandle and the Carolinas.

The southeastern US is being pelted with heavy rains while the deadly Category Four storm steamed ever closer to the coast with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph.

Two million people across the Southeast were warned to flee inland as tens of millions along 500 miles of coastline battened down the hatches.

The 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm is the most powerful hurricane to threaten the US Atlantic coast in more than a decade and could be the most most catastrophic to hit the north and east of Florida in 118 years.

The NHC's Twitter account and the Atlantic Ops Twitter account are still releasing information.

The site, however, has been off since around 11p.m. eastern time.

The NWS is encouraging Internet users eager for more information on the storm to use social media.