Hurricane Irma: Almost 3 Million Predicted To Be Without Power, Including Georgians

ATLANTA, GA — Hurricane Irma is more than a day from striking its Category 4 blow on southern Florida, and won't sweep into Georgia until Sunday, but when it does almost 3 million people between Miami and Atlanta will be without power, according to an online prediction tool. Those outage numbers will likely only get bigger as the storm makes landfall and heads north, say tool creators.

The Hurricane Irma Power Outage Prediction forecasting tool was created by researchers from Ohio State University, Texas A&M University and University of Michigan to model potential outages from what has become the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The tool estimates the fraction of an area’s population that will likely have outages through statistical modeling of numerous factors, including wind speed estimates, population density, soil moisture levels.
While its too early for weather forecasts to determine Irma's exact northern path through Georgia and the Carolinas, the prediction tool presently only shows outages for the southern end of Irma’s path.

Watch: Florida Braces As Irma Rips Across The Caribbean

“As the storm progresses, our model will likely show additional outages to the north as the track and intensity forecast for this area becomes available,” they said.

You can find the prediction site here.

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Georgia Power said Friday that its crews will not cut power to any of its service areas ahead of the storm. This includes areas with evacuation orders.

Georgia utility companies and their contact information include:

• Georgia Power: Report an outage at 888-891-0938 or online
• GreyStone Power: Report an outage at 770-942-6576. or through the online form

Screenshot image from Hurricane Irma Power Outage Prediction site