ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency Tuesday for 38 Georgia counties, including Bulloch, likely to be affected by Hurricane Milton, a massive storm expected to make landfall in west-central Florida Wednesday night.

Milton intensified rapidly Monday into a Category 5 hurricane, with winds topping 180 miles an hour. The storm is expected to weaken but only to Category 3 before making landfall, but as it weakens, it is likely to become wider.

In South Georgia and along the coast, the storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall and tropical storm wind gusts. The counties covered by Kemp's emergency declaration range as far north as Bibb and Monroe counties and include the Columbus and Albany areas in Southwest Georgia, all six coastal counties, the Valdosta area, and Bulloch, Bryan and Candler counties along Interstate 16.

The National Weather Service is predicting higher than normal winds of 13-23 mph Thursday afternoon for Bulloch and possible wind gusts as high as 37 mph.

With evacuation orders in effect in many parts of Florida, traffic volumes on Interstate 75 northbound Tuesday morning were 280% higher than normal from the Georgia-Florida line north to Macon. On I-95 northbound and along I-16, volumes were 89% above normal.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced that the I-75 South Metro Express Lanes south of Atlanta will remain open only to northbound traffic through Tuesday to accommodate Floridians complying with evacuation orders. The toll lanes can be accessed by motorists using a Georgia Peach Pass, Florida Sun Pass or E-Z Pass.

The state Department of Natural Resources has opened Georgia state parks to RVs and campers.

Kemp's emergency declaration for Hurricane Milton co-exists with the state of emergency he declared late last month when Hurricane Helene was bearing down on Georgia. On Tuesday, Kemp renewed the earlier order to run through Oct. 16.

Unlike Helene, which did tremendous damage as it swept through Georgia and the Carolinas, Hurricane Milton is expected to move across Florida on Thursday and into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday night.

Threat from Milton

The system is threatening the Tampa Bay area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people and has managed to evade a direct hit from a major hurricane for more than 100 years. Milton is also menacing other stretches of Florida's west coast that were battered when Helene came ashore on Sept. 26.

Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm on Monday before weakening Tuesday to a Category 4. National Hurricane Center forecasters warned that the storm would likely remain a major hurricane and could even expand as it approaches Florida. Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida's central Gulf coast late Wednesday. 

Milton is just the latest system in a storm season that scientists say is the weirdest they've ever seen.

Forecasters were predicting a busy Atlantic hurricane season before it started, and it began when Beryl became the earliest storm on record to reach Category 5 status. But from Aug. 20 — the traditional start of peak hurricane season — to Sept. 23 it was record quiet, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

Then, five hurricanes popped up between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, more than double the old record of two. On Sunday and Monday, there were three hurricanes in October at the same time, which had never happened before, Klotzbach said. In just 46.5 hours, Hurricane Milton went from forming as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane.