Hurricane Irma could hit Georgia as powerful Category 3

The National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. Thursday advisory puts dangerous Hurricane Irma on a collision course for south Florida.

Georgia also is expected to see a storm with winds of at least 111 mph.

The current track shows the historically powerful storm potentially hitting near Miami as a Category 4 storm.

The cone of uncertainty still allows for the eye to pass to the east of the Florida peninsula or track on the western edge of the state into the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday morning.

Meteorologist Steve Nelson of the National Weather Service in Peachtree City warned Georgians to be prepared for severe weather as the storm gets closer.

“You can’t take chances with a storm this strong,” Nelson said in a video update posted early Thursday.

If Irma tracks up the east coast of Florida for another possible landfall toward the Georgia-South Carolina border, the storm could still be fueled by warm Atlantic waters and maintain a good bit of strength.

Nelson said the powerful storm could re-energize of the coast.

The National Weather Service forecast discussion warns Irma could still be a Category 3 storm as it begins to affect Georgia by Monday morning.

According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, a Category 3 storm packs winds of 111-129 mph.

Category 4 storms have winds of 130-156 mph and Category 5 is 157 mph and greater.

Forecasters have increasing certainty that Georgia will have strong winds from Irma and a high pressure gradient over the state.

The maximum winds and heaviest rains are expected to be toward the eastern counties of Georgia.

The Peach State will begin seeing those stronger winds by Sunday morning.

Stay tuned to the latest updates and have disaster kits on hand in the event of power outages or property damage.

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 7:03 AM with the headline "Hurricane Irma could hit Georgia as powerful Category 3."