Derrek Vaughn | The Valdosta Daily TimesAs of Tuesday afternoon, all three Valdosta Walmarts were sold out of bottled water. Various other stores were running low on bottled water as South Georgians prepare for Hurricane Irma.

UPDATE: Ray Hedgecock, owner of Powerhouse Outdoor Equipment, said the business will receive more generators, expected to arrive Friday. Powerhouse will start taking pre-orders for generators at 3 p.m. Thursday.

VALDOSTA — With Category 5 Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida, South Georgia residents are preparing for the worst by stocking up on supplies.

Across Valdosta, stores are already seeing signs of running low on water, gas and generators. For Ray Hedgecock, owner of Powerhouse Outdoor Equipment, he has never seen so much demand for generators.

“Yesterday, we sold 125 generators,” Hedgecock said Wednesday. “This storm is very unique. It’s the first time I’ve seen people plan this far in advance of a storm.”

He said Powerhouse usually sells generators after a hurricane hits, not before. The advanced sales show how seriously people are taking Hurricane Irma, he said.

For 30 years, Hedgecock said he has been able to deliver generators to people in need, but this year might end the run. 

“If this hurricane hits as hard as it is projected to hit, you will not be able to buy a generator anywhere in the southeast,” Hedgecock said. “I don’t know if it is because of everything that happened in Houston, but this is the least amount of inventory that we’ve ever seen. I can’t get anymore and I’ve never been in this position before.”

Generator suppliers are almost completely sold out, and he doesn’t know where to buy more, he said. Powerhouse had some more generators Wednesday. After that, there will be no more available in Valdosta, he said.

Lowndes County Emergency Management is tracking Hurricane Irma’s path, and according to the National Hurricane Center, Irma is forecast to impact the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula by this weekend. Lowndes County Clerk Paige Dukes said the county could still experience the effects of Irma by the middle of next week.

While the forecast Wednesday was more positive than in previous days, it is important for residents to continue to prepare. Storm paths typically shift several times as events progress.

“The forecast path for Irma does not lend itself to Lowndes County being a favorable location for evacuees to seek shelter,” Dukes said in a statement. “This could change if the path of the storm moves out of our area.”

Currently, people involved in sheltering activities are preparing in the event it becomes necessary to open shelters. If shelters are opened, Lowndes County Emergency Management will maintain a list of available shelter locations.

For people seeking shelter from Irma in Valdosta, most hotels in the city are booked through next week. Holiday Inn Express & Suites and Country Inn & Suites is fully booked until next Wednesday, according to staff at both locations Wednesday. 

Shannon Chewning, Holiday Inn assistant general manager, said the hotel already had limited space due to the Prince Hall event happening Sunday. She said she thinks Florida Gov. Rick Scott is doing a great job getting ahead of the storm.

“We hope that everyone is safe and weathers the storm,” Chewning said.

Hotels booked until next Tuesday include the Comfort Suites and Quality Inn. The Hilton Garden Inn is booked until next Thursday, according to the hotels.

Regardless of preparations, there is still a level of uncertainty regarding the actual path of Irma.

Andy Lahr, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee office, said there is a high degree of uncertainty in predictions, since it is expected to be several days before Irma could reach South Georgia.

“You’re still not out of the woods (in the Valdosta area) for a potential direct hit,” Lahr said.

Assuming Irma does take the projected path up the coastal areas of Florida and Georgia, Lowndes County could still see gusty winds and heavy rain, he said. 

Dan Kottlowski, senior meteorologist for the private forecasting firm AccuWeather, said Valdosta could start feeling the effects of Irma as early as Sunday evening. Valdosta could see between four to eight inches of rain, with heavier rains to the east of the city, he said.

The city probably won’t be affected hard enough to make evacuations necessary, he said. Much of the “panic buying” of water and other supplies is probably due to Hurricane Harvey’s disastrous impact on Houston, he said.

“People just don’t want to put up with that,” he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, all three Valdosta Walmarts were sold out of bottled water. Various other stores were running low on bottled water as South Georgians prepare.

Gas prices in Valdosta had already taken a sharp upswing during the past weekend as Hurricane Harvey damaged much of America’s petroleum refinery industry in Texas.

The average price of a gallon of fuel in the city Wednesday was $2.66, up 12 cents since Sunday.

Tripp Singletary of Sing Brothers in Valdosta said gas sales have been above normal for the past couple of days at the company’s two retail locations.

“Of course, everybody gets their car filled now, then it gets slower (after Irma threat passes),” he said. “There may be a little panic for a few days, drawing down the supplies everybody uses.”

The price tracking website gasbuddy.com has fired up a gas availability service on its website, gasbuddy.com. Users can type in their zip code and see a map highlighting retailers with fuel and showing stores that have run out of gas.

Mediacom, in preparation for Hurricane Irma, released a statement regarding its services during the potentially violent weather. The TV and internet provider stated it would closely monitor the storm and prepare all its southeast and mid-Atlantic cable systems.

Services could be interrupted during the storm and work will begin directly following the storm to restore services, according to the release.

Mediacom can be contacted for questions, outage statuses or to report a downed line via its website for at 1-855-633-4226.

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256