MIAMI — Hurricane Ian — yes, it is a hurricane again — left Florida and set out for its final destinations.
Ian, which left a stretch of the Southwest Florida coast in ruins as a Cat 4 and crossed the state as a tropical storm, is on the outskirts of South Carolina.
Hurricane conditions and a “life-threatening storm surge” are forecast for the Carolina coast by Friday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory.
Ian, now a Category 1 hurricane, will approach and reach the coast of South Carolina Friday, then move farther inland and into central North Carolina Friday night and Saturday.
Storm location
The National Hurricane Center’s update at 11 a.m. Friday puts Ian about 60 miles southeast of Charleston. The center of the storm will move farther inland across the Carolinas Friday night and Saturday.
Strength
Maximum sustained winds are near 85 mph, with higher gusts. That will stay the same as Ian makes landfall later Friday, before the hurricane weakens on Saturday, according to the center’s 11 a.m. advisory.
Hurricane-force winds extend up to 70 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 275 miles. The storm is traveling north at 14 mph.
Watches and warnings
▪ A hurricane warning spans the Savannah River to Cape Fear. The hurricane center warrns of “flooding rains” likely across the Carolinas and southwestern Virginia.
▪ A storm surge warning is in effect from the Flagler-Volusia line in Florida to Cape Fear in North Carolina, and for the St. Johns River in Florida.
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