Early reports from Idalia: Beaufort County saw 66 mph winds and 3.5 inches of rain

The center of Idalia moved into coastal North Carolina after lashing the South Carolina’s Lowcountry with high winds and high water Wednesday evening.

At 6 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service in Charleston said the storm would be continuing its progression to the east northeast through the next several days. No additional impacts were expected from the storm in South Carolina.

In Beaufort County, the storm left a trail of downed trees and coastal storm surge flooding, including Sands Beach in Port Royal, but no major damage had been reported as of early Thursday morning.

Peter Mohlin, a Weather Service meteorologist, said Idalia passed Beaufort County Wednesday evening and onto the Charleston area by late evening before moving north of the Santee River after midnight.

The storm produced quite a bit of wind damage with most of those reports in northern Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper counties in South Carolina and Chatham County in Georgia, Mohlin said.

The highest rainfall amounts were 6 to 10 inches in the Statesboro area of Georgia.

The Weather Service had received one rain report of 3.57 inches of Beaufort County as of early Thursday morning with rainfall amounts in South Carolina ranging from 3 to 5 inches.

The highest Lowcountry wind report was 69 mph on south Tybee Island in Georgia and locally gusts reported in Beaufort County was recorded at 66 mph.

Storm surge of 2 to 4 feet was reported from Hunting Island in northern Beaufort County through the Charleston area where “It produced a substantial storm surge but north of Hilton Head island,” Mohlin said.