Idalia to make landfall as a CAT 4 hurricane, impacts expected Wednesday

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A Hurricane Watch has been issued for the Georgia coast and the majority of the South Carolina coastline.

The WTOC viewing area will feel impacts from Idalia on Wednesday, so Wednesday is a First Alert Weather Day!

Use your time wisely today to secure outdoor objects and prepare for power outages. These will begin Wednesday afternoon due to high wind gusts.

Idalia is expected to strengthen into a Major Hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, bringing hurricane-force winds to the west gulf coast of Florida into Wednesday morning.

Outer rain bands from Idalia will arrive early Wednesday morning, this begins the chance for isolated tornadoes.

Wind gusts of 40 to 60 miles per hour will be possible, some hurricane-force wind gusts of 74+ miles per hour will be possible along the immediate coastline Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Heavy rain and wind will increase throughout the day. Accumulations will range from 4 to 6+ inches.

For coastal areas, we could have 2-4 feet of storm surge in addition to the higher-than-normal tides thanks to the full moon, onshore wind and rain. This will increase the flooding potential for areas near waterways.

The rain moves out overnight heading into early Thursday morning, Breezy conditions remain, now coming in from the northwest.

The end of the week into the weekend looks nicer with lows down into the 60s for inland areas and highs back up near 90 degrees.

Stay tuned for updates.

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