By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Beaufort County is under a tropical storm warning Thursday morning after it was upgraded from a watch on Wednesday evening according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Charleston.
Hurricane Milton hit the western coast of Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 9, as a Category 3 hurricane before making its way across the peninsula and moving offshore as a Category 1 on Thursday morning.
The storm is projected to continue out into the Atlantic Ocean south of the Lowcountry, but it is expected to grow – which means that the area will likely feel impacts from the storm going into Thursday and early Friday morning.
The current forecast expects sustained wind speeds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph on Thursday into early Friday morning.
It has been two weeks since Tropical Storm Helene hit the Lowcountry, and many trees in the area have been left weakened leaving them more vulnerable to strong wind gusts.
This could lead to falling trees and debris that could disrupt power service, block roads and cause personal property damage.
A coastal flood advisory in Beaufort County states that areas along the shore and near tidal waterways can expect up to one foot of flooding on Thursday and into the morning on Friday, Oct. 11.
Deadly rip currents are expected offshore and breaking waves of 5 to 8 feet are expected to cause beach erosion through Friday morning.
Conditions are expected to start improving late Thursday and early Friday morning as Milton continues to move further out into the Atlantic Ocean.
The City of Beaufort released a statement on Thursday stating that citizens need to be patient with Public Works in regard to clearing roads as they have a system.
Clearing main roadways connected to the fire and police departments and Beaufort Memorial Hospital is the priority.
According to the release, Highway 21 Trask Parkway, Sea Island Parkway, U.S. Business 21 – Boundary Street, Carteret Street and Parris Island Gateway – Robert Smalls Parkway and Ribaut Road will be cleared before Public Works begins working on ancillary roadways, which are main roadways within neighborhoods and districts.
“All roadways are inspected prior to crews being deployed to ensure safety and ability to remove the hazard, tree and/or debris,” Public Works Director Nate Farrow said. “Any tree or debris located within a utility will be documented and reported to the proper provider. Once it has been removed from the utility, Public Works will finish removing the debris/tree from the roadway.”
Beaufort County Parks and Recreation has canceled all classes, special events, leagues and practices on Thursday due to the projected wind gusts associated with Milton.
The recreation centers and pools are continuing to operate on their normal schedules as of Thursday morning.
Beaufort County School District (BCSD) has also canceled all athletic and extracurricular activities for Thursday.
Thursday and Friday were previously scheduled as vacation days for BCSD students.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
