The National Weather service issued a Tornado Watch for Pike County until 2 a.m. Thursday. The Tornado Watch includes Pike and 58 other counties in Central Georgia.
Pike County's EMA director Jimmy Totten is encouraging citizens to prepare for the high winds and rain which are forecast to start later this afternoon.
"Now is the time to be weather prepared. Hurricane Michael will cause significant impact to much of middle and eastern Georgia starting this afternoon," said Totten. "Winds of 25 to 45 mph with gusts over 60 mph are likely. We cannot rule out isolated areas of wind gusts over 75 mph. The strongest winds will occur tonight. Torrential rain and flash flooding is expected. Tornadoes are also possible. This storm has become a more serious threat than predicted. The winds will be strong. There will be trees down and power outages. Try not to drive later tonight it will be dangerous. Do now panic but do not take this lightly. We still have plenty of time to prepare. Put your yard furniture up so we don’t have trampolines going across the county."
Pike under tornado watch until 2 a.m.
The winds, heavy rain and tornado threats will diminish after sunrise on Thursday, however larger rivers may continue to rise.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Michael has strengthened overnight and is now a Category 4 storm with maximum winds of 140 mph. It is still expected to make landfall between Panama City and Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle early this afternoon. Outer bands with heavy rain and isolated tornadoes will begin to affect the much of central and east Georgia this afternoon.
What Has Changed:
The forecast track and timing has not changed much but the Tropical Storm Warning and Flash Flood Watch have been expanded to include a few more counties.
Wind speeds and gusts have been increased for most areas
Unfortunately, Hurricane Michael has strengthened overnight and is now a Category 4 storm with maximum winds of 140 mph. It is still expected to make landfall between Panama City and Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle early this afternoon. Outer bands with heavy rain and isolated tornadoes will begin to affect the much of central and east Georgia this afternoon.
What Has Changed:
The forecast track and timing has not changed much but the Tropical Storm Warning and Flash Flood Watch have been expanded to include a few more counties.
Wind speeds and gusts have been increased for most areas
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