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Hurricane Idalia ripped through Florida before it headed to Georgia and South Carolina as a weakened, but still-powerful, tropical storm.
Idalia is expected to move offshore today, but it is likely to remain a tropical storm as it does so, the National Hurricane Center said.
Around 300,000 customers were without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina early this morning.
NBC News reports Idalia could drop up to 8 inches of rain in the Carolinas, and forecasters warn that flash, urban and moderate river flooding is possible.
The storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend just before 8 a.m. ET yesterday as a Category 3 hurricane after having strengthened to Category 4.
Flooding and heavy rainfall continue to cause life-threatening conditions in parts of eastern North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center has warned.
“A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the indicated locations,” the NHC said in a 5 a.m. ET update.
A tropical storm warning is in effect, covering from the South Santee River to the Virginia border as well as Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, and a storm surge warning covers coastal communities including Beaufort Inlet and Ocracoke Inlet.
The storm is expected to move east beyond the North Carolina coast at some point today — but tropical storm winds at its center could still reach 185mph.
Tornadoes are also possible in the area, the NHC said.
Homes slowly reconnected to power grid in Florida and Georgia
Some of the thousands of households without power as a result of Idalia have been reconnected.
NBC News reports in Florida 143,000 customers remain without power, compared to some 150,000 late Wednesday, according to the tracking website Poweroutage.us as of 4 a.m. ET Thursday.
In Georgia 118,000 customers are without power, a reduction from 149,000 overnight.
More than 50,000 customers are without power in the Carolinas, according to Poweroutage.us.