Photos and videos: Hurricane Ian scenes from Florida to North Carolina

The Charlotte area braced for Hurricane Ian winds, rain, flooding and power outages as the Category 1 storm was forecast to barrel inland from the coast on Friday.

Life-threatening storm surges and hurricane-force winds are expected along the North and South Carolina coasts as hurricane Ian continues along its path, the National Hurricane Center said. Winds and rain are expected to reach a peak in the Charlotte area by Friday afternoon, according to a National Hurricane Center bulletin at 5 a.m. Friday.

Though Ian is now expected to be a Category 1 hurricane, Ian was a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall Wednesday in southwest Florida just north of Naples and Fort Myers, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center.

It swamped streets with water and smashed trees along the coast while moving at a snail’s pace that threatened horrific flooding across a wide area, according to the Associated Press.

On Thursday, Ian’s path in southwest Florida trapped people in flooded homes, destroyed the only bridge to Sanibel Island, damaged the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people as it dumped rain across the peninsula, according to the Associated Press.

SAFETY

Before the storm fully hits Charlotte and the surrounding area build a safety kit should you need to leave your home advises the City of Charlotte. Included should be:

• water

• nonperishable food

• first aid kit

• cash

• medications

• extra batteries and alternate power

• toiletries

• battery-powered or hand-cranked radio

• flashlights

• pet supplies

• other supplies you may need

It is also important to know your flood risk which you can find out by visiting Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services’ 3D interactive map.

To reporting flooding in your area you can call 311 for minor flooding or 911 for major flooding and trees in the road.

For live updates on Charlotte weather during hurricane Ian, read The Charlotte Observer’s live updates article

For live hurricane updates, you can visit the National Hurricane Center’s Twitter.

Photos and videos will continually be updated here are the hurricane progresses