Hurricane Michael weather: Georgia to be hit by BLISTERING RAIN - Carolinas TORNADO threat
HURRICANE MICHAEL has wreaked devastation across the southeastern US and is continuing on its destructive path as Georgia and the Carolinas face the impending storm.
Hurricane Michael: Hotel roof collapses in 'powerful' storm
Packing winds of 155mph, the deadly storm uprooted trees, downed power lines and ripped roofs from houses.
Two deaths have so far been attributed to the storm.
One man is said to have died as the result of a falling tree in Gadson County, Florida, and a child is reported to have been killed when a tree crashed through a mobile home.
Despite now weakening to a tropical storm with 50mph winds, extensive damage is still being caused.
The weather system is currently above the state of Georgia, dumping torrential rain as it tracks northwards.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts Michael will produce rainfall of up to seven inches on eastern Georgia.
North Carolina and Virginia are also facing torrential rain, with up to nine inches of rain forecast to fall.
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This level of rainfall could trigger life-threatening flash floods.
This comes as the Carolinas are still reeling from the deluge of rain and catastrophic winds that hit in September as a result of Hurricane Florence.
There are also tornado warnings in place over eastern South Carolina and eastern and central North Carolina, as well as southeast Virginia.
Tornado watches are in place for the following areas:
Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC
Coastal waters from Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC
Waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC
Waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC
Waters from Murrells Inlet NC to South Santee River SC
Tornadoes spawn from hurricanes due to the amount of vertical wind shear that they produce.
Wind shear is differences in wind direction and speed at varying heights.
However, for those impacted by Michael, tornadoes from hurricanes are usually weaker, smaller and more short-lived than usual ones.