Macon could avoid worst of storms this weekend. Here’s the latest Middle Georgia forecast

Macon may escape the worst of Hurricane Ian’s wrath later this week now that it has slowed down, as the near-Cat 5 hit Southwest Florida Wednesday.

Dale Eck, the Head of Forecast Operations for the Americas at The Weather Company, predicts that the worst of the hurricane will steer east of Middle Georgia.

“What was once going to be a hurricane coming in near or north of Tampa, is now stronger but slower and closer to Fort Myers as it makes landfall,” Eck said. “That should take the worst conditions well east of you guys. There could be maybe an inch of rain, with winds closer to 10 or 15 miles per hour.”

The possibility of diminished storms comes as a result of Ian slowing down after hitting land in the Port Charlotte and Fort Myers area of Florida.

“By Sunday, it should be a sunny nice day across Middle Georgia. The storm that hits here will just sweep through over a couple of days,” Eck said. “Friday night should probably be the wettest, but still not severe.”

Eck projects the hurricane to track closer to Savannah and Columbia, South Carolina. Storm surge there could reach three-to-five feet, but that path would spare the Middle Georgia area the worst of Ian’s weather.

While projections have shown better outcomes for the area, Maconites should still prepare for worse conditions. The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City projects that rain and higher winds could still hit Macon.

“I would say people should still be prepared for up to two or three inches of rain and strong winds,” said NWS meteorologist Katie Martin. “Those better conditions are very possible, but Ian may not track that far east. Then it would still bring storms to Macon and that area.”

Martin emphasized that while the track has changed and become less severe than the initial projections calling for up to 40 mph wind gusts, it could still impact Macon’s weather significantly.

“The track could change at any point, so these projections are not certain but could still happen,” Martin said. “We definitely hope that it continues to move east away from Middle Georgia cities and land, but it’s important to be prepared.”