Ian Makes Final Landfall, Peak Impacts Arriving to the Region This Afternoon

• Tropical Storm Warnings in Place until further notice
  • Sustained winds 20-35 mph with gusts 45-60 mph
• Flood Watch until 12pm Saturday
  • Models trending down on totals (2-3″ of rain, but it will all fall within 12 hrs so flash flooding threat remains)
• Wind Advisory for Mountains, Foothills (including Cleveland Co) until 8am Sat
  • Winds 20-30 mph with gusts 40-50 mph

Ian has made landfall near Georgetown, SC after 2pm. Models have continued to shift this track east, and timing has shifted slightly. But, overall our impacts remain the same. Outer rainbands just east of I-77 this morning with breezy conditions already beginning. Ian will make landfall later this afternoon where it will quickly weaken into a tropical storm. It will likely remain a tropical storm well into the Piedmont, before becoming a remnant low tonight into early Saturday, tracking north into Virginia. Heavy rain will begin near mid to late morning and spread west through the afternoon. The heaviest rain will end tonight between 10pm – midnight. Light showers will remain Saturday, generally for areas north of I-40. It will be cool today with some areas already seeing the warmest temps. Temps will struggle to break out of the 50s.

Tropical storm warning covers most of the region near and east of I-77. Areas not under the tropical storm warning are under a wind advisory with most counties under a flood watch. Gusty winds will likely bring down some trees and cause scattered power outages for the area. Heavy rain will begin this afternoon. Peak threat for damaging wind and flash flooding will be generally 4-10pm. Most of the rain we will get today will fall within a 12 hour window which is why the flood watch remains even though totals have trended downward.

Drier air sweeps in this weekend with the change of the track of this storm, chance for scattered showers not as widespread. It will remain cool with temps well below average through midweek.