Suffolk should see clear – maybe even sunny – skies by noon today, a welcome relief from last night’s pounding by Hurricane Charley.

Capt. James T. Judkins, the city’s emergency services coordinator, said Saturday morning he expects the storm will be downgraded into a tropical storm by the time it hits Suffolk. When the paper went to press at noon, forecasters were predicting that the area would experience four hours of winds upwards of 50 to 60 miles per hour and and 4 to 8 inches of rainfall last night, Judkins said.

&uot;Winds are projected to be as bad as we saw in Isabel,&uot; Judkins said. &uot;From everything I’m seeing now, Suffolk and Southampton and Isle of Wight counties are going to take the hardest hit around here.&uot;

Gov. Mark Warner declared Virginia under a state of emergency at 10:15 a.m. Saturday. City officials are meeting in early afternoon – after the paper went to press – to decide whether to declare a state of emergency in the city.

Charley ripped into Florida’s coastline at Sanibel Island Friday afternoon as a Category 4 storm, with winds reaching 145 mph and a water surge that exceeded 10 feet. Charley left at three people dead and billions in damage in its wake in Florida.

Local weather updates through Tuesday:

Sunday. Mostly cloudy in the morning. Then becoming partly sunny. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. North winds around 10 mph in the morning. Becoming light and variable. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Sunday night. Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Lows in the upper 60s. Light and variable winds. Becoming north around 10 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Monday. Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

Monday night. Mostly clear in the evening. Then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s.

Tuesday. Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s.