Chances That Hurricane Irma Could Hit Georgia Increase

ATLANTA, GA — As Hurricane Irma hammered the Virgin Islands as a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm, the chances of it making landfall along Georgia's coast were inching upward Wednesday afternoon.

While the storm's exact path is impossible to predict, the National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m. update had the storm jogging a bit eastward, making a hit somewhere between Cumberland Island and Savannah more of a possibility.

The center's latest forecast map shows a probable path for Irma that engulfs the entire Florida and Georgia coastlines and stretches up into the South Carolina Lowcountry region.

Eyeing the storm's approach. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for six coastal counties — Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh.

"Ahead of Hurricane Irma, I’ve issued an executive order prohibiting price gouging and waiving rules and regulations for motor vehicles transporting supplies, equipment, personnel, goods and services associated with disaster assistance and relief," Deal said in a written statement. "This state of emergency also ensures aid for the six counties potentially impacted by this catastrophic storm. We will continue monitoring Hurricane Irma’s path in the days ahead and coordinating with our federal, state and local partners.

"I urge Georgians in the affected counties to remain vigilant and be prepared."

Watch: Hurricane Irma Pummels The Caribbean; Florida Could Be Next

Projections show that tropical storm-force winds could make their way into south Georgia as early as 8 a.m. Sunday. Residents in all of Florida's 67 counties had been urged to prepare to evacuate, and multiple forecast models show the storm working its way into Georgia after striking Florida — if not jogging up the coast and eventually making landfall somewhere in the Peach State.

"It's definitely possible that we'll feel some impacts, but right now the track is still pretty uncertain," Lauren Merritt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City said Wednesday morning. "About a day or so from now, things ought to be a little bit more clear as to what we can expect here in Georgia."

Regardless of where the the storm eventually reaches the continental U.S. — if it does so at all — weather in Georgia, including metro Atlanta, will be impacted, Merritt said.

"Our main threat will be gusty winds and, depending on that track, we could be dealing with flooding or tornadoes," she said. "We'll definitely get rainfall for sure and some gusty wings, but the extent to which is still a little bit uncertain at this time."

Wednesday afternoon, Irma was packing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, making it a Category 5 storm and placing it among the most dangerous ever experienced in the Atlantic.

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, Irma was located 20 miles east-northeast of St. Thomas. Forecasters at the hurricane center say Irma is moving west-northwest at 16 m.p.h. Hurricane warnings have gone up for Saint Martin, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and other interests in the region.

By Thursday and Friday, Irma is projected to swirl along the northern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, pass through the Turks and Caicos islands and then the southeastern Bahamas, where storm surges of up to 20 feet are possible, the hurricane center said.

Hurricane-force winds were extending out 50 miles from the hurricane's center. Tropical storm-force winds were extending outward by 175 miles.

The National Weather Service said Puerto Rico had not seen a hurricane with the strength Irma is packing since 1928 when Hurricane San Felipe killed 2,748 people in Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and Florida, The Guardian reports. “The dangerousness of this event is like nothing we’ve ever seen,” the Puerto Rico governor, Ricardo Rossello, said. “A lot of infrastructure won’t be able to withstand this kind of force.”

In Georgia, hotels early Wednesday were already being fully booked as Florida residents made plans to evacuate.

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Emergency agencies along Georgia's coast were mobilizing to prepare for the storm and, state Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens was encouraging residents to make copies of their insurance policies, obtain the insurance company’s phone number; inventory their personal belongings; and keep all of these documents with them should they be forced to leave their homes.

The Atlanta Motor Speedway announced Wednesday it would be opening its campsites for Irma evacuees starting on Thursday. The speedway is accustomed to accommodating thousands of campers during its NASCAR events.

And the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry said it will be opening its 350 available stalls Thursday for horses being evacuated from harm's way.

Merritt, of the National Weather Service, advised Georgians possibly in the storm's path to have an evacuation plan, as well as an emergency kit on hand, and to know which information sources they need to be following for the latest on the storm's progress.

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Images courtesy National Hurricane Center