South Carolina airport to close as Hurricane Dorian approaches
A South Carolina airport announced plans to close as Hurricane Dorian stares down the Palmetto State’s east coast.
The Charleston International Airport will be closing Wednesday at 3 p.m., officials announced Tuesday on Twitter.
Operations at the coastal airport are expected to resume Friday morning when Hurricane Dorian is projected to close in on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, according to the tweets.
“We strongly recommend that passengers stay in direct contact with their airlines for up to date information on flight operations and cancellations,” airport officials tweeted.
The Charleston airport served an average of more than 200,000 passengers each month this year, according to statistics on the airport’s website.
Hurricane Dorian is expected to pass by the S.C. coast Thursday, according to predictions from the National Hurricane Center. The slow-moving storm has spawned hurricane warnings across the Lowcountry and watches in the Grand Strand.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster warned residents of the possibility of flooding if Hurricane Dorian dumps six to ten inches of rain in some areas as it crawls up the coastline. Hurricane force winds are expected to hit the coast, while hurricane strength gusts could reach inland South Carolina beyond the Interstate 95 corridor, McMaster added.
Mandatory evacuations along eight coastal counties commenced Monday. By 8 a.m. Tuesday, nearly a quarter of a million people had fled the coast, state officials said.
Meanwhile, the Columbia Metropolitan Airport is scheduled to continue operating as usual, officials said.
This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 3:22 PM.
