Hurricane Paul has become a major Category 3 hurricane in the Pacific off Mexico and a hurricane warning has been issued for a swath of Baja California's western coast.

Patty's center was about 255 miles (410 kilometers) northeast of the central Bahamas and it was stationary. Its maximum sustained winds were 40 miles per hour (64 kph).

The damage data comes from door-to-door inspections of more than 120,000 homes done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after people registered for federal aid.

Beaches were closed Thursday as the approaching storm whipped up surf. Residents stocked up on batteries, food and water.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted Georgia and seven other states permission to bypass environmental standards for gasoline in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.

Isaac may not be a hurricane anymore, but now people are storming into Louisiana to help clean up. As News 12's Christie Ethridge reports, a few people from this area are already there.

City officials are imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew in New Orleans beginning Wednesday because of the downed power lines and generally unsafe conditions.

South Carolina prices jumped almost 8 cents a gallon to nearly $3.58 on Wednesday. In the Upstate, which typically has the lowest gas prices, the increase was almost 11 cents.

The storm's arrival Tuesday evening comes on the eve of the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the region.

Isaac is expected to make landfall over southeastern Louisiana, possibly the New Orleans area, either late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

The storm has been on a track similar to Hurricane Katrina's path in 2005, which contributed to 16 tornadoes across Georgia.

Many Katrina evacuees are still in the area and News 12 spoke with a woman who moved back to Augusta after that monster of a storm.

Forecasters say there's also a possibility of tornadoes in a region of southwest Georgia that includes Albany and areas to the south and west of that city.

Rain is in the forecast for the next several days. It's needed in the central Savannah River Valley where five counties are still considered to be in a severe drought.

Debby has drenched Florida for four straight days and forecasters warn that even though the storm is weakening, the threat of flooding remains.

The statewide emergency in Florida means that the state can waive or suspend certain state laws to respond to the storm. It also means that price-gouging laws take effect.

Despite rain from Tropical Storm Beryl last weekend, it's been years since the Georgia coast faced a full-blown evacuation.

This year, emergency management in Columbia County has more than 400 people ready to help save lives and bring people to safety.

The system is expected to move along the coast of the Carolinas before moving over the Atlantic later Wednesday. That's when Beryl is expected to regain tropical storm strength.

Mostly, the storm is bringing much-needed rain to an area parched with drought.

Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to make landfall Sunday night and the weather system is already wrecking some Memorial Day weekend plans.

The storm is centered about 225 miles (362 kilometers) east of Jacksonville, Fla.

The official start to hurricane season is June 1, but tropical storms often occur before then.

The report says storm names are reused every six years unless retired for causing considerable casualties or damage. Irene is the 76th name to be retired from the Atlantic list since 1954.

They say residents in hurricane zones instead should use hurricane shutters and impact-resistant windows.