VALDOSTA — At noon Monday, the eye of Tropical Storm Irma was nearly at the Georgia-Florida border and poised to move across Lowndes County, according to a National Weather Service forecaster.

The storm produced gusts as high as 55 miles per hour in Valdosta around 6 a.m., said Jane Hollingsworth, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.

Valdosta can expect to see 40 mph winds in the afternoon, though they should taper off rapidly in the evening, she said.

Precise data was unavailable because the weather station located at Valdosta Regional Airport stopped working early Monday morning, but Hollingsworth estimated the city had received about 3.5 inches of rain by noon.

Winds should shift from the northeast to the northwest as the eye passes over Lowndes County, she said.