AccuWeather: Hurricane Ian resembles a ‘powerful nor’easter’

Ian was bearing down on the South Carolina coast Friday as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.

AccuWeather meteorologists warned that despite being rated lower on the Wind Scale than when it slammed into florida, Ian will still pack a punch and unleash life-threatening impacts as it makes landfall Friday again Friday.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward from Ian’s center to 70 miles out and its tropical-storm-force winds reached as far as 485 miles out from the center, mainly to the north of the center.

Satellites showed that Ian’s cloud shield stretched as far away as Pennsylvania and New England.

“Ian’s structure is similar to that of a powerful nor’easter, with most of the storm’s rain and wind focused to the north and west of the center,” AccuWeather hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski said. “But, make no mistake, Ian will hit with the force of a hurricane in the Carolinas, especially along the upper half of the South Carolina coast.”

To follow the track of the storm and impacts to our region, visit AccuWeather.com