McMaster puts SC under state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ian impact
Gov. Henry McMaster has put South Carolina under a state of emergency as Hurricane Ian, downgraded to a tropical storm, made landfall in Florida before the storm’s path moves toward the Palmetto State.
The governor is not, however, ordering evacuations or demanding that government buildings or schools close, leaving school districts to decide whether to close schools or go remote.
The hurricane made landfall in southwestern Florida Wednesday. It’s expected to move slowly north toward the Midlands.
The National Weather Service said it did not expect Ian to be a hurricane by the time it reaches South Carolina. When the storm reaches the Columbia area, Ian is expected to be a tropical storm when it tracks over the Midlands, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
Currently, the southern parts of the South Carolina coast — from Charleston County to the Georgia border — are under a hurricane watch in case the storm does strengthen.
“Ian, while it’s out over the Atlantic Ocean, there is the potential for it to strengthen or to be a low end Category 1 hurricane,” said National Weather Service meteorologist John Quagliariello.
Quagliariello said wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph could be felt across the state Thursday, but the tropical storm force winds will arrive Friday morning and continue into Saturday.
McMaster did not order evacuations because he said the consensus was that they are not necessary for this storm.
“We think that the analysis that we’ve made with the National Weather Service and also watching what’s happening in Florida indicates this this is not a situation where we need to have evacuations,” McMaster said.
Still for those seeking safety, two shelters in Charleston County and one in Jasper County will open.
State Transportation Secretary Christy Hall said some of her employees are being moved to the coastal areas to help with cleanup, such as with downed trees.
Hall said some bridges may have to close because of high winds. Those closures would include restricting delivery trucks, RV’s and large transport trucks from crossing high-level bridges, including Charleston’s Ravenel Bridge when winds reach 30 mph.
If winds reach 40 mph, roads officials may look to close more bridges.
“Plan ahead. Just be aware, track what the storm is doing and plan your routes accordingly if you have to travel at all on Friday,” Hall said.
Declaring the state of emergency allows South Carolina to get federal emergency assistance, and it allows theNational Guard to stage equipment and personnel and allows agencies to suspend any regulations that could hinder emergency operations, McMaster said.
The governor and other state officials are warning of heavy rain and wind, flash flooding and isolated tornadoes.
And, heeding those warnings, some school districts in the Midlands and on the coast have made plans to close or go remote.
“We are prepared as we can be for what’s coming,” McMaster said Wednesday.
Quagliariello said it is difficult to compare this storm to previous hurricanes that have hit South Carolina because each storm is different.
“In this event we do think winds will extend over from the coast well into the Upstate,” Quagliariello said. “The rainfall threat exists across the whole state. We’re not expecting the rainfall to be as catastrophic as it was in 2015 for the floods or during Florence or Matthew, but certainly we get enough heavy rainfall in a short period of time, we would see flash flooding. It’s something we should expect, anticipate and be prepared for.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been to updated to reflect Hurricane Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 4:11 PM.
