Trust everyone is enjoying the final weeks of summer before school resumes for the fall semester.

While there is no imminent weather threat to the Island at this time, this is probably a good opportunity to remind everyone that we are moving into the most active part of the hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center revised its 2021 predictions on August 4 to indicate an even busier season than forecast in May.  The most recent forecast indicates 15 to 21 named storms and 7 to 10 hurricanes with 3 to 5 of them considered major hurricanes. 

Just this week activity in the Atlantic has two systems to follow (see attached NHC data as of 8am today):

• Tropical Depression Fred – Currently TD Fred is somewhat disorganized having crossed the mountains of the Dominican Republic. The storm, currently moving between Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas, is located at 20.7N 74.2W or 80 miles northeast of Guantanamo, Cuba. Tracking is on a WNW heading at 300 degrees around 16 MPH with central barometric pressure of 29.85 steady. The projected track will take the storm near or over the west coast of Florida and into the panhandle. It is probably too early to tell if rain will influence the South Carolina coast.
• The National Hurricane Center is also watching another area of showers and thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave located about 1400 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Environmental conditions are expected to gradually become more conducive for development and a tropical depression could form by early next week as the system generally moves westward at about 20 MPH. Formation chance through a 5-day outlook is at 60 percent.

While this is old and repetitive, now is the time to have your family hurricane plan in place. For guidelines and suggestions, you may visit the Town website www.sullivansisland.sc.gov or the Charleston County website www.charlestoncounty.org. Additionally, you might consider:

• Check the Weather Channel or other local media outlets daily for significant storm activity that can impact Sullivan’s Island during a 5-day window
• Stock up on items such as canned foods, bottled water and flashlight batteries
• Consider an evacuation destination
• Consider a storage location for your boat
• Locate the customer shut off valve for your household water tap
• Purchase a battery-operated weather radio
• Note Dominion Energy helpful information: (1) SC Outage Map:  https://www.DominionEnergySC.com/outages-emergencies/power-outages/outage-map (DESC Customers can sign up for mobile outage reporting at: https://www.DominionEnergySC.com/outages-emergencies/power-outages/text-message-reporting)

Finally, if you need assistance from Police or Fire, please utilize Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch at the following numbers:

• For emergency assistance always dial 9-1-1
• For non-emergency assistance dial 843-743-7200

Nice weather ahead for Friday, Saturday and Sunday – enjoy!!!

Regards,

Andy Benke
Town Administrator
abenke@sullivansisland.sc.gov