MATTHEW BRINGS STORM SURGE – 2 PIERS WASHED AWAY

SPRINGMAID PIER AND SURFSIDE PIER HAVE  SECTIONS THAT HAVE WASHED AWAY ACCORDING TO AUTHORITIES OF EACH

According to Donald Hovis,  Pier Manager of Springmaid Beach Pier, the pier has washed out to sea.  Reports of Surfside Beach pier are also now coming into our team.   We hope to have more pictures of both areas soon.  With the current conditions,  however,  it is unlikely we will be able to make those locations before a.m. Sunday.

Due to the mounting tidal surge and heavy rains, Sea Mountain Highway in North Myrtle Beach is no longer passable by motor vehicle and entry into Cherry Grove by motor vehicle is no longer possible. This situation will continue to worsen as we get closer to high tide, which occurs around 2 p.m.

MATTHEW TO BRING HEAVY RAIN, STRONG WINDS AND COASTAL FLOODING

Matthew has weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it inches toward our area. Thanks to increasing wind shear and dry air, steady weakening will occur through Saturday and at its closest point. At this point, any small shifts in the track really doesn’t matter. Matthew will be close and everyone will get impacts.

Flooding rain and strong winds starting last night and lasting through the day today, will cause serious impacts so be prepared!

HERE’S WHAT TO EXPECT:

WIND – Winds are increasing as Hurricane Matthew continues to inch closer to our area. Winds will gradually decrease through late Saturday night through Sunday morning. At their peak, expect frequent winds of 35-55 mph across the Pee Dee and on the Border Belt. It’s not out-of-the-question that we’ll have a wind gust there of 60 mph. Along the Grand Strand (including interior Horry and Georgetown counties), expect frequent winds between 50-70 mph with an isolated wind gust near 75 mph on the beach. Winds of this magnitude are capable of scattered damage that would include some trees being knocked down, minor structural damage, and scattered power outages. If you haven’t done so, make sure you bring in or secure loose items around your home.

RAIN – Heavy rain will stick around all day Saturday and will finally begin dissipating late afternoon heading into early evening. 12 inches of rain will be possible in many areas east of I-95. Given how wet we have been this will cause flooding. In fact, this is my biggest concern. This will not be anything like last year’s flood, but if you flooded during Hermine, that could again.

TORNADO – Early morning hours, we have been on the northeastern side of the storm, making us on the ‘onshore’ side so the tornado risk is low, but not zero.

STORM SURGE AND COASTAL IMPACTS – Swells emanating from Matthew will produce rough surf and breaking waves of 5-10 feet. A Storm surge of 3-6 feet will cause significant coastal flooding especially around the time of high tide Saturday which are at 12:45 am, 1:30 pm. If you recall the king tide flooding we had last September and October of 2015, you know how extensive that flooding was. Expect the storm surge to be 2-4 feet higher than that. Those areas of Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Little River and Cherry Grove that are prone to flooding should know that it will be much worse than during the king tides. Waves may reach then breach the dunes along the Grand Strand. It goes without saying that there could be significant beach erosion thanks to the pounding waves. Storm surge is expected to be between 3-5 feet.

RIVERS – Rivers will rise and late in the weekend and next week, moderate to major flooding is likely.

To sum it up, it’s going to be very nasty Saturday with heavy rain capable of flooding and strong, gusty winds capable of knocking over a few trees. We’ll keep you updated frequently.