Hurricane Michael has been upgraded to a Category 4 and is projected to hit the Florida panhandle off the Gulf Coast Wednesday afternoon and travel northeast, passing through Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas, according to the Weather Channel.
Hurricane Michael is expected to hit the Hampton Roads area Thursday, so residents can expect “scattered” showers and “steady” rain on Thursday and high “wind gusts” on Friday, said Jeff Orrock, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Wakefield.
Orrock said the rain will start late Thursday evening and last until about 4 a.m. Friday. The area can expect anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rainfall.
On Friday, there will be wind gusts around 55 to 65 mph starting at 4 a.m. and lasting until 7 a.m., with temperatures ranging from the high 70s to the high 50s, Orrock said.
He said the weather will be “short-lived” and advises residents to “put things away” and to expect a “few downed trees” and “spotty” outages.
There will be a wind and flood watch on Thursday and a wind advisory on Friday, Orrock said.
