‘Good weekend to watch football’ as cold wind, possible flooding in Beaufort Co. forecast
Cold, wet and very windy, with minor to major coastal flooding possible.
That’s the gloomy weekend forecast for South Carolina’s coast.
With the surf pounding, it won’t be a good beach day, Frank Strait, severe weather liaison for the State Climate Office, said in a Friday weather alert. Strait’s advice: “Staying home and watching football or a movie is probably a better choice, but if you need to go out, be very cautious and don’t drive or walk through flooded areas.”
The National Weather Service says the strong storm system will impact the South Carolina Lowcountry and the Georgia Coastal Empire through this weekend bringing significant coastal and marine impacts to the region.
Those impacts already were being felt Friday afternoon.
Beaufort’s First Friday Event was canceled due to the inclement weather forecast, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said.
Along the coast, minor flooding is expected with Friday evening’s high tide with the potential for strong winds, high surf and beach erosion, the Weather Service said. Showers are expected mainly after 11 p.m with a quarter to a half-inch of rain possible and lows around 49 and north winds 16 to 20 mph.
Moderate to major coastal flooding is expected with the Saturday morning and Sunday morning high tides, with minor coastal flooding during the Saturday evening high tide.
On Saturday, new precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch are possible. More rain — between a 10th and quarter of an inch — are possible Saturday evening.
“The immediate coast might see gusts to 50 mph or so,” Strait wrote in his weather alert. “As if this weren’t enough to deal with, the high astronomical tides continue and actually will peak with the Saturday morning high tide. So, there will be coastal flooding to contend with, and rain coming down will exacerbate the flooding.”
Gradually, the weather improves Saturday night through Sunday as the storm toddles eastward away from us, Strait said.
Strait told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet that winds in the Beaufort and Hilton Head area will not be quite as strong as those in Charleston and points northeastward along the coast. However, sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts to 45 mph are possible.
“Tidal flooding exacerbated by rain is going to be a problem for your area as well but also should not be as serious as I think that they will see in Charleston,” Strait said.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 3:08 PM.
