Hurricane Idalia upgrades to Category 4, Lowcountry braces for impacts Wednesday

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – A tropical storm warning has been issued for the South Carolina coast as Hurricane Idalia strengthens to a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday morning.

Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane around daybreak.

After landfall, forecasters say the storm will make a northeastern turn and then east – moving near the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. 

In Charleston, impacts from Idalia will gradually increase Wednesday morning and continue through Thursday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, Idalia will subside to a tropical storm as it moves along the South Carolina coast. 

A tropical storm warning is active for Charleston, inland Colleton, Berkeley, Georgetown, Dorchester, and Williamsburg counties. A storm surge watch is in place for Charleston and coastal Colleton counties. 

A hurricane watch is in effect for the mouth of St. Mary’s River northward to Edisto Beach and Coastal Colleton County.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Idalia is southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. “This increase in intensity is going to continue all the way to landfall,” Storm Team 2 Meteorologist Josh Marthers said. NHC upgraded Idalia as a Category 4 hurricane at 5:10 a.m.

The Lowcountry is bracing for heavy rain bands, flooding, minor storm surges, and frequent wind gusts.

Rainfall totals are expected to range between 4 and 8 inches in inland South Carolina, and 1 to 3 inches closer to the coast. 

Flooding is possible in inland and coastal areas. “We are going to be dealing with pockets of very heavy rain, and that heavy rain will be coming down in a short amount of time,” Marthers said Wednesday morning.

Marthers predicts frequent 40 to 60 mph winds in the area, with the highest winds over the coastal water.