As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Ian is still a category 4 hurricane, with sustained
winds of 140 mph. Ian is starting to lose strength as it travels over land.
Hurricane Warnings blanket central Florida, including cities like Naples, Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Tampa, Sebring, Lakeland and Orlando. Tropical Storm Warnings cover a lot of the south Atlantic coast from Florida through North Carolina.
Tropical storm warnings have no spread inland to counties just outside of Central Georgia and most of South Carolina.
Storm surge is possible along the coast as well. It could be as high as 3-5 feet along the entire Georgia coast.
The forecast cone from the National Hurricane Center continues to pull Ian’s center east. Ian is predicted to ride the Atlantic coast for a few hours before it tracks slightly above the Savannah River afternoon Friday and into Saturday morning.
With this cone, this would keep Central Georgia on the better side of the storm from a severe weather potential. There will be very little tornado threat but the wind threat will still be in play.
Wind ahead of the storm will begin as early as mid-morning Thursday with gusts up to 30-35 mph through the day on Thursday. Then on Friday, gusts will go a bit higher, potentially up to 40-45 mph, with locally higher gusts.
These winds will be prevalent because of the pressure gradient ahead of the storm, a very similar set-up as to when Irma pushed through.
Central Georgia will be on the edge of the rainfall. As of now, the forecast is for 0-3 inches with higher amounts to the east.
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