Hurricane season is here. Are you ready? Here’s a guide to help prepare in Beaufort Co.
Though it didn’t officially start until June 1, hurricane season 2020 is already shaping up to be a busy one.
First there was Arthur and Bertha in the Atlantic, and now, less than a week into hurricane season, Tropical Storm Cristobal is churning the Gulf of Mexico and set to make landfall on the Louisiana coastline Sunday night.
Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that we would see between 13 and 19 named storms this year. They say three to six of those storms could be major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
Water temperatures in the Bahamas and Caribbean, which reached 80 degrees in March, caught the attention of meteorologists.
“Warm water is actually what drives a lot of seasons,” AccuWeather’s Dan Kottlowksi said earlier this year.
Sunday’s print edition includes an insert to help you prepare for the just-in-case situation that Beaufort County would be affected by a storm during hurricane season.
For our digital readers, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division also offers its own guide that includes myriad information about storms, emergency kits and evacuating safely.
Keep this information handy from now until Nov. 30, but don’t wait until the last minute to get prepared.
“Here we are, in hurricane season in the middle of a pandemic,” said S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster at a Thursday news conference. “There’re a lot of challenges coming at one time.”
Happening now
On Saturday afternoon, Tropical Storm Cristobal was moving north through the Gulf of Mexico at 12 mph. It’s maximum sustained winds were 50 mph.
Cristobal, as a tropical depression, left flooding and mudslides in its wake as it crossed portions of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Some slow strengthening is forecast until landfall occurs on the northern Gulf coast late Sunday through Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Portions of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle were under storm surge or tropical storm warnings. Some areas could see as much as 12 inches of rain as the storm moves inland, meteorologists said.
Coronavirus and evacuations
With the coronavirus pandemic still disrupting normal life, the response to a storm — should one threaten Beaufort County — will be anything but typical.
In addition to the items you would expect to pack in your emergency kit in the event of an evacuation, such as food and water, medications and important documents, state officials recommend packing face masks, soap, hand sanitizer and disinfectant.
Well before a storm, people along the East Coast should think about how and where they will evacuate, Carlos Castillo with the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a May report posted on islandpacket.com. He said evacuees should try to stay with family or friends to avoid staying in an emergency shelter if possible.
The state is planning on having 70 or more shelters available for evacuees, Marshall Taylor, general counsel for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said in Thursday’s news conference with the governor.
The agency is also exploring alternates such as hotel rooms and other sites.
Questions?
Have a question about hurricane season or preparations in Beaufort County?
Email newsroom@islandpacket.com, and we’ll do our best to answer them in future reports.
