While cleanup continues from Helene, Savannah and the South Carolina Lowcountry could again experience tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rain this week as Hurricane Milton moves over the Florida peninsula and continues into the Atlantic.
Milton strengthened to a category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center reported.
The hurricane is forecast to move across the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall on Florida’s west coast late Wednesday or early Thursday.
“The storm is expected to track off the Georgia and South Carolina coast on Thursday with impacts extending several hundred miles from its center,” the National Weather Service’s Charleston office cautioned Monday.
Coastal areas in both states could be hit with winds of 39 mph or more Wednesday into Thursday, NWS said. Rain totals of 2 to 3 inches also are possible, with as much as 4 to 6 inches falling in the McIntosh County area.
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