NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The City of North Myrtle Beach moved to OPCON 1 at 9 a.m. today.
There are three OPCON levels from the South Carolina Emergency Management Division:
- OPCON 1 (Full Alert, a Disaster is Occurring or Imminent)
- OPCON 2 (Enhanced Awareness that a disaster or emergency is likely to occur)
- OPCON 3 (Normal Daily Operations)
The most recent information about the impact of Hurricane Ian for the North Myrtle Beach area came from the National Weather Service in Wilmington, NC.
The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows Ian making a second landfall along the Southern SC coast this afternoon (2-4 p.m.) near Winyah Bay as a Category 1 Hurricane with 85 mph winds.
Everyone in North Myrtle Beach should prepare for wind damage and storm surge.
There is a 100% chance that tropical storm force winds will impact our area.
Everyone in the North Myrtle Beach area should expect winds greater than 58 mph. The winds will pick up shortly after noon with gusts peaking between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m.
North Myrtle Beach should expect storm surge of 2-5 feet.
Flash flooding and coastal flooding should be expected.
Conditions will continue to worsen over the day especially this afternoon.
Please avoid driving through flooded streets. DO NOT DRIVE AROUND ANY CONES OR BARRICADES.
Hazardous beach conditions are expected through Saturday and possibly later. High tides will increase the impact of coastal flooding and erosion. The highest levels will begin on Friday and last through at least Saturday. NMB Ocean Rescue has declared double red flag conditions on the beaches. That means the ocean waters are closed to the public.
There is a risk of tornadoes Friday and Friday night. Please make sure to listen for alerts from the NWS weather radio, or other local media outlets.
The public can sign up for alerts using the link below:
https://nmb.us/alerts
Below are some helpful links.
South Carolina Emergency Management Division:
https://scemd.org/
National Hurricane Center:
National Hurricane Center (noaa.gov)