ATLANTA — Hurricane Dorian is forecast to become a powerful Category 4 storm before it impacts Florida and potentially the Georgia coast early next week.
Dorian now has winds near 100 mph.
On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp issued a State of Emergency for several Georgia counties along the coast including Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce and Wayne.
Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday, and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend. It could be as strong as Category 4 storm with winds of up to 130 mph.
11AM UPDATE -- #Dorian is now forecast to strengthen to a Cat. 4 before making landfall along the central east coast of FL. While the forecast track has changed very little, the forecast intensity has increased. The possible scenarios for N GA ahead @ Noon pic.twitter.com/HWlEci6kVC
— Katie Walls (@KatieWallsWSB) August 29, 2019
We're tracking the impacts the storm could have on Georgia, on Channel 2 Action News This Morning, starting at 4:30 a.m.
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Right now, models show the storm will hit Florida on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Where exactly landfall will be is still unknown.
[DOWNLOAD: WSB-TV's Weather App for alerts on the tropical storm]
Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brad Nitz said parts of Florida could see up to 15 inches of rain and catastrophic flooding.
Up to 15 inches of rain is likely in parts of Florida as Hurricane Dorian moves through. This brings the threat of inland freshwater flooding. pic.twitter.com/gStwNx9mDr
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) August 29, 2019
Florida Governor Rick DeSantis has declared a State of Emergency for every county in Florida. Officials are warning of life-threatening storm surge and devastating, hurricane-force winds.
During a news conference Wednesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the state is closely watching Hurricane Dorian.
Kemp said state officials are already weighing considerations on how to potentially handle evacuation scenarios.
"I want to get people thinking about it. Florida has declared a state of emergency, so at some point, we could be dealing with people evacuating from there, which creates interstate issues for us, and we just want to be proactive," Kemp said.
We just got a briefing on the state’s preparedness for Hurricane Dorian. While no one is sure of the exact track, the governor warned it could be a “nasty weekend” in parts of Georgia. pic.twitter.com/NzlvCRqvhz
— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) August 29, 2019
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency will be opening its emergency operations center. GEMA has workers from different agencies who will be there coordinating the response and making sure resources get to the right places.
President Trump has canceled a planned trip to Poland ahead of the storm.
"Our highest priority is the safety and security of the people in the path of the hurricane," Trump said.
Cox Media Group
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