(WSPA) – Hurricane Ian left a path of devastation along the west coast of Florida following landfall Wednesday afternoon as a category four storm.
The storm is now headed toward the South Carolina coast.
Depending on its path, the Carolinas and Georgia can expect rain and strong winds Friday and Saturday.
Many schools opted to move to virtual learning Friday due to the potential storm impacts.
Below are the latest updates on Hurricane Ian:
As of 5 a.m. Saturday, The National Hurricane Center said Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian’s heavy rains continue across the central Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, Ian has now lost its tropical characteristics and has become a post-tropical cyclone.
Ian still has winds of 70 miles per hour but those winds are mostly measured offshore, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is expected to rapidly weaken as it moves northward and should dissipate by early Sunday morning over North Carolina or Virginia.
Ian is still bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the Carolinas and Virginia. The heaviest rainfall is expected to stay east of Greenville.
As of 2:05 p.m. Friday, Hurricane Ian made landfall just south of Georgetown, South Carolina. Ian is currently a category 1 hurricane.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Ian is accelerating toward the South Carolina coast.
Tropical storm force winds are ongoing across the coast of the Carolinas. Life-threatening storm surges and damaging winds are expected to arrive soon.
As of 5 a.m. Friday, Life-threatening storm surges and hurricane conditions are expected along the Carolina coast by this afternoon.
Flooding rains are potentially expected across the Carolinas.
As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Hurricane Ian remains a category one storm with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour.
The latest track shows Ian making landfall Friday afternoon northeast of Charleston with winds of 85 mph.
Each new track from the National Hurricane Center has moved Ian further east of the Upstate, lowering the chances of flooding rains in the western areas of the Upstate and northeast Georgia. Eastern areas, including Spartanburg and Gaffney, could still see upwards of three inches of rain from the storm.
Hurricane Warnings remain in effect for the entire South Carolina coast.
Tropical Storm Warnings are in place for most of South Carolina and North Carolina excluding the Upstate and western North Carolina.
Wind advisories are in effect for our entire area with wind gusts over 40 mph possible.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Ian has strengthened back into a category one hurricane off the east coast of Florida.
Hurricane Ian has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.
The latest track shows Ian making landfall Friday afternoon near Charleston as a category one storm with winds of 80 mph.
Hurricane Warnings remain in effect for the entire South Carolina coast.
Tropical Storm Warnings are in place for most of South Carolina and North Carolina excluding the Upstate and western North Carolina.
Wind advisories are in effect for our entire area with wind gusts over 40 mph possible.
Eastern areas of the Upstate including Spartanburg and Gaffney could see more than three inches of rain from the storm.
Western counties, along with NE Georgia, could see up to an inch.
As of 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a hurricane warning has been issued for the entire coast of South Carolina now that Ian is expected to regain hurricane intensity.
As of 11:00 a.m. Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said Ian is producing catastrophic flooding over east-central Florida.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the entire coast of South Carolina by the National Hurricane Center.
Deep tropical moisture associated with Ian could bring the potential for flash flooding, storm surge and gusty winds across portions of Georgia and the Carolinas.
The strongest gusts begin Friday afternoon according to the NHC.
As of 5:00 a.m. Thursday, Ian’s winds continue to drop, dropping it to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour.
Tropical Storm Ian is expected to produce strong winds, heavy rains and storm surge across portions of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 11:00 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Ian’s winds continue to drop, dropping it to a category 2 hurricane with a maximum sustaining winds of 90 miles per hour.
As of 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Ian continues battering the Florida peninsula. A NOAA National Ocean Service station near Ft. Myers reported water levels greater than 7ft.
A University of Florida Coastal Monitoring Program wind tower reported sustained winds of 64 miles per hour with wind gusts of 104 miles per hour.
A private weather station near Port Charlotte reported a sustained wind of 115 mph with a wind gust of 132 miles per hour as Ian made landfall on the mainland Florida peninsula a little more than 2 hours ago.
As of 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Ian is battering the Florida peninsula with catastrophic storm surge, winds, and flooding with maximum sustained winds reaching 140 miles per hour.
A Storm Surge Watch has been issued north of South Santee River to Little River Inlet.
As of 3:05 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Ian made landfall as a category 4 storm near Cape Coral and Fort Myers with winds reaching 155 miles per hour, which is just shy of a category 5 storm.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Ian is nearing the coast of the southwestern Florida peninsula. Maximum sustained winds remain at 155 miles per hour.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, the eyewall of Hurricane Ian is moving onto the western shore of Florida. Ian will cause catastrophic storm surges, winds, and flooding in the Florida peninsula.
Depending on how long Ian sits over Florida will depend on when the Carolinas and Georiga will receive wind and rain.
As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Ian strengthened to a category four storm with winds of 155 miles per hour as it approaches landfall on the western coast of Florida.
As it approaches landfall, it will continue to intensify.
Upstate SC and Western NC can expect to see four to six inches of rain and wind Friday evening into Saturday afternoon.
As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Ian remains a category three storm with winds of 120 miles per hour.
Ian could still strengthen to a category four storm before making landfall along the west coast of Florida near Fort Myers, according to the National Hurricane Center forecast.
The forecast track still shows Ian emerging over the Atlantic Ocean before making landfall again near Savannah, Georgia.
Tropical Storm Watches remain in effect for portions of the South Carolina coast up to Charleston and Berkeley counties.
Areas in the Upstate are forecast to see anywhere from three to four inches of rain from Ian.
Some of the mountain areas in North Carolina could see upwards of four to five inches of rain.
Gusty winds are also expected throughout the Upstate, winds could gust as high as 45 miles per hour.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Ian continues to move toward the west coast of Florida as a category three storm with winds of 120 miles per hour.
Ian could reach category four strength before making landfall.
The latest forecast track shows Ian making landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday south of the Tampa Bay area before making its way across Florida.
Ian is then forecast to briefly move back over the Atlantic Ocean before moving back on shore south of Savannah, Georgia.
4 p.m. Tuesday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster held a news conference to discuss the potential impacts of Hurricane Ian in the state.
Watch the full news conference above.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Ian is continuing to grow in the southeastern part of the Gulf of Mexico.
As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Ian has moved into the southeastern part of the Gulf of Mexico. New watches and warnings have been issued for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Flooding is expected across Central Florida into southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Ian strengthened to a category three hurricane. It made landfall in Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.
As of 11 p.m. Monday, Hurricane Ian continued to strengthen with winds of 105 miles per hour as it approached the western tip of Cuba.
Ian is expected to become a major hurricane overnight or early Tuesday.
The latest storm track for Ian shows the storm making landfall Thursday morning in the Tampa Bay area.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, Hurricane Ian is now a category two hurricane with winds of 100 miles per hour.
The National Hurricane Center’s latest storm track shows the storm making landfall north of Tampa, Florida on Thursday.
Ian is still forecast to become a category four hurricane before landfall.
As of 2 p.m. on Monday, “Ian continues to intensify. Conditions in western Cuba to deteriorate this evening and tonight with significant wind and storm surge impacts expected.”
As of 11 a.m. on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said, “Ian forecast to continue rapidly strengthening. Conditions in western Cuba to deteriorate this evening and tonight with significant wind and storm surge impacts expected.”
As of 5 a.m. on Monday, Tropical Storm Ian was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane.