Array
Storms were already lashing the South Carolina coast early Friday as Ian is expected to slam into the Palmetto State as a Category 1 hurricane this afternoon — with forecasters warning of a “life-threatening storm surge.”
On Friday morning in the historic city of Charleston, powerful wind gusts bent tree branches and steady rain fell.
The mega storm is currently about 105 miles southeast of Charleston, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 a.m. ET advisory. It is packing powerful maximum sustained winds around 85 mph.
“The winds are holding steady at 85 mph,” Fox Weather meteorologist Steve Bender said.
Forecasters predict a storm surge of up to 7 feet into coastal areas of the Carolinas, and rainfall of up to 8 inches.
The re-energized storm is expected to hit somewhere between Charleston and Georgetown, but batter a huge area around them because of its terrifying size.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center warned.
Meanwhile, more than 2 million in Florida are waking without power to survey the historic death and destruction left in its path.
