The Liberty County emergency operations center is at OPCON 2, meaning it is at full activation.
Schools in Liberty and Long counties are closed today, and all Liberty County and City of Hinesville offices are closed.
Liberty County is under a hurricane warning and a flood watch.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s “Big Bend” region this morning as a Category 4. It is forecast to track to the northeast and gradually weaken.
However, Liberty County emergency management officials warned, Idalia is forecast to be at hurricane strength as it reaches southeast Georgia late this afternoon, then becoming a tropical storm as it tracks along the coast of South Carolina.
Impacts from Idalia will gradually increase this morning, deteriorating sharply across the region this afternoon and evening. Conditions should gradually improve during the daylight hours Thursday.
Potential impacts includes heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Rainfall could be from 4-8 inches throughout inland southeast Georgia and 1-3 inches closer to the coast.
There is a high probability of tropical-storm-force winds across southeastern Georgia. A corridor of hurricane-force winds is likely close to the storm center and over the Atlantic marine waters as it tracks across southeast Georgia before weakening to a tropical storm.
Based on the timing of the current forecast track, the Wednesday evening high tide cycle will produce the highest water levels (3-5 feet of water inundation near the immediate coast and tidal waterways).
There is also the risk of tornadoes across southeast Georgia.
According to the National Weather Service, the biggest change to the intensity forecast is to increase the wind speeds over southeastern Georgia and South Carolina as the rapid motion and track close to the coast is expected to keep the system near hurricane strength for longer.
Idalia is expected to move near or along the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas in 24-36 hours. Uncertainty in the track forecast beyond 48 hours remains quite large, and the latest guidance is significantly faster. The new forecast is adjusted toward the consensus but could be too slow at long range.