Beaufort County still sees some wind and rain of Hurricane Dorian’s outer bands move away

Beaufort County was feeling wind and rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Dorian as it moved away mid-afternoon Thursday, said Brittany MacNamara, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.

Sustained tropical storm-force winds had left the area, but gusts were still possible, MacNamara said. She said rain also would continue.

“Trees are still going to fall,” MacNamara said about 2:30 p.m. “It is not over yet.”

As of 2 p.m., Dorian was a category 2 hurricane about 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach. It was moving north-northeast at 8 mph with 110-mph winds.

Hilton Head Island saw about 2.35 inches of rain by 2:30 p.m. Thursday, MacNamara said.

Neil Dixon, NWS meteorologist, previously said ground saturation from continued rain could cause tree roots to become unstable.

Dorian Beaufort County Facts

The highest wind recorded in Beaufort County was 67 mph at 1:35 a.m. at the Hilton Head Island Airport, Dixon said..

The highest in the city of Beaufort was 38 mph recorded at 12:11 p.m.

The worst of the storm surge in Beaufort County should be over, Johnson said. At Fort Pulaski, the nearest location for tidal measurement by the National Weather Service, tide levels topped at 9.6 feet.

Macnamara said Dorian passed about 100 miles off Beaufort County’s shore. It was previously predicted to be about 50 miles away.

Dorian has caused power loss throughout the county overnight. Around 25,000 people reported power failure Thursday morning in Beaufort County, according to outage maps from Dominion Energy and Palmetto Electric. Power had been restored to many places by Thursday afternoon.

During a 1:30 p.m. briefing, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lifted the evacuation order for Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties, effective at 3 p.m.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 3:50 PM.