A tornado watch was issued by the National Weather Service office in Atlanta that encompassed parts of South Carolina, inland and coastal flooding could cause large damages in the state.
South Carolina is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Helene, which is set to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle Thursday night as a major hurricane, potentially as powerful as Category 3 or higher, before ripping through the Southeast, meteorologists say.
More than 42 million people across the Southeast are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings, according to the National Weather Service, as the storm approaches landfall somewhere in Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday.
After making landfall, its path is expected to move into Georgia, but areas of South Carolina are under weather warnings and watches as the Palmetto State expects to feel the effects of the storm as well.
On Thursday morning, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Georgia and South Carolina until 9 p.m. ET. The area under the watch encompasses Savannah, Charleston and Columbia.
Follow here for live updates: Hurricane Helene now a major Cat 3 storm, plowing toward Florida
Coastal flooding and other damages expected
Although the center of the hurricane’s path expects to narrowly miss South Carolina, extensive rain damage and flooding could still be seen. Due to strong winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean, a significant storm surge and coastal flooding are also expected in South Carolina.
Portions of Charleston could be inundated from Thursday night into Friday morning. As the storm moves inland, strong winds could hit parts of the state, with many residents under a power outage risk, according to AccuWeather.
The National Weather Service Office in Charleston issued Tropical Storm Watch warnings on Wednesday morning that stretch across some of the South Carolina coastline as well as inland areas.
In Columbia, the NWS office predicted that isolated tornadoes are likely, and warned of strong wind gusts of 40+ mph, power outages, and fallen trees.
On Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a dire warning for residents across Georgia, Florida and South Carolina about inland flooding that could pose a deadly threat even after the initial storm passes.
“NOAA’s National Weather Service is alerting communities that Helene’s flooding rainfall and high winds won’t be limited to the Gulf Coast and are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland,” the release said.
The service warned that major flood risks could be seen outside of Florida in areas around metro Atlanta and western North Carolina.
Hurricane Helene tracker
Note: effects of the storm can be felt outside of the cone depicted in the following graphic.
South Carolina Weather Alerts
Tropical-storm-force winds could arrive in South Carolina Thursday night
Contributing: Gabe Hauari, Dinah Voyles Pulver
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.