VALDOSTA — While central Florida was devastated by Hurricane Ian Wednesday and Thursday, central South Georgia was spared the worst when the storm turned further east than originally predicted.

“We have three trees down and no damage,” said Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes.

At the beginning of the week, the National Weather Service warned that the Valdosta area could experience hurricane force winds and significant flooding Thursday and Friday.

Instead, Thursday saw mostly cloudy skies and a breeze Thursday night with a 30% chance of showers Friday.

“It’s certainly good news,” said Parks Camp, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Tallahassee, Florida, office.

In fact, the entire region served by the Tallahassee office — which stretches from Berrien and Turner counties in Georgia to Dixie and Lafayette counties on the Florida coast — had no real impacts from the storm, he said.

“The worst winds were 45-mph gusts in Dixie County (Florida),” Camp said.

Ian crossed peninsular Florida Thursday, reforming as a hurricane when it reached the Atlantic, with a course predicted to bring it into South Carolina.

In central Florida, more than 2.5 million people were without power Thursday with catastrophic flooding feared. President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for Florida the same day.

In Lowndes County, all county and city schools will remain closed Friday. Valdosta schools were already scheduled to close from Sept. 30 — Oct. 3 for fall break, and will reopen Tuesday, Oct. 4, a Facebook post from the school system said. Schools in Echols and Brooks counties will also remain closed Friday.

Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for all of Georgia that runs through Friday evening and includes anti-price gouging orders.