Storm drenches Florida and causes floods in South Carolina as it moves up East Coast
GEORGETOWN, S.C. (AP) — An intense late-year storm barreled up the East Coast on Sunday with heavy rains and strong winds that shattered rainfall records, forced water rescues from flooded streets and washed out holiday celebrations.
Authorities rescued dozens of motorists stranded by floodwaters in South Carolina’s waterfront community of Georgetown, Georgetown County spokesperson Jackie Broach said. More than 9 inches (22.9 centimeters) of rain fell in the area situated between Charleston and Myrtle Beach since late Saturday.
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“It’s not just the areas that we normally see flooding, that are flood-prone,” Broach said. “It’s areas that we’re not really expecting to have flooding issues…It’s like a tropical storm, it just happens to be in December.”
The tide in Charleston Harbor hit its fourth highest level on record and was “well above the highest tide for a non-tropical system,” according to the National Weather Service.
Rising sea levels driven by human-caused climate change mean even relatively weak weather systems can now produce storm surges previously associated with hurricanes, said Meteorologist Jeff Masters, co-founder of the Weather Underground. In South Carolina that’s worsened by natural subsidence along the coast.
By 2050, Charleston is expected to see another 14 inches (35.6 centimeters) of sea level rise, Masters said.
“In Charleston, this is the sixth time this year already that they’ve had a major coastal flood. Most of those would not have been major flooding 100 years ago, because the sea level has risen that much,” he said.
The storm was forecast to gain strength as it tracked along the Georgia and Carolina coasts, producing heavy rain and gusty winds before sweeping into New England by this morning, the weather service said.
Wind gusts of 35 mph to 45 mph (56 kph to 72 kph) could bring down trees, especially on saturated ground.
There were numerous road closures in Charleston and across South Carolina’s Lowcountry, while stranded cars littered streets.
There were no reports of injuries or deaths in Georgetown County, Broach said. Gusty winds were strong enough to topple some signs and trees. Outdoor holiday decorations were tossed about, she said.
Water rescues also took place on Kiawah and Seabrook islands, according to media outlets.
Charleston International Airport had more than 3 inches (8 centimeters) of rain in 24 hours — almost five times the prior record set in 1975, according to the National Weather Service.
Farther up the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding was expected Sunday, according to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, North Carolina.
There were more than 31,000 power outages in South Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us, along with over 14,000 in North Carolina and more than 11,000 in Florida.
