On September 30, 2022 at 2:05 PM Hurricane Ian made landfall near Georgetown, SC as a Category 1.
NWS Charleston, SC
Summary
Hurricane Ian, which devastated the southwest Florida coast as a strong Category 4 hurricane, emerged off of the east coast of Florida late Thursday, September 29, 2022 and slowly turned to the north towards the South Carolina coast. Direct impacts from Ian on the local forecast area began in the early morning hours of Friday, September 30. While southeast Georgia experienced little or no notable impacts from Ian, the Lowcountry of South Carolina was not so fortunate. Tropical Storm to Hurricane force wind gusts resulted in numerous reports of downed trees and power lines, yielding thousands of power outages. At landfall, Hurricane Ian had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and a central pressure of 977 mb. Heavy rainfall produced significant flooding across portions of the Charleston Metro Area, and several Flash Flood Warnings were issued during the event. The map below displays the impacts Hurricane Ian had to the local area as well as surrounding areas.
Hurricane Ian Warnings, Advisories, and Storm Reports. Between both North and South Carolina a total of 381 storm reports were issued. Of those 123 were from the Charleston County Warning Area. Data obtained from the Iowa State University Archive.
The Forecast
Initial Advisory
The first advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), for then Tropical Depression Nine, came out at 5 AM on Friday September 23, 2022.
Key Messages for Tropical Depression Nine.
NHC Track Forecast
Tropical Depression Nine eventually became Tropical Storm Ian, and then Hurricane Ian. Ian made landfall along western Cuba before re-strengthening and making landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida. The storm would then emerge on the eastern side of Florida, re-strengthen once again and make a third landfall along the South Carolina coast.
Video showing all of the NHC Track Forecasts from the National Hurricane Center for Hurricane Ian.
Preliminary Best Track
Once the storm was out in the Atlantic Ocean it curved back towards the East Coast and made landfall along the South Carolina coast near Georgetown.
Preliminary best track for Hurricane Ian, with data points from the National Hurricane Center.
8 PM September 28, 2022
Image shown is a 500 mb analysis highlighting a mid level trough extending southward across the Eastern United States (solid black lines).
8 PM September 28, 2022
Image shown is a 500 mb analysis highlighting Hurricane Ian at the mid-levels (solid black lines).
8 AM September 27, 2022 through 8 PM September 30, 2022
500 mb analysis. Hurricane Ian merges with the mid-level trough and is brought into the southeastern coast.
Rainfall
The Lowcountry of South Carolina received heavy rainfall on Friday September 30. Even though the center of Hurricane Ian tracked further to the north, the storm was slightly asymmetric, with the bulk of the precipitation on the western side of the low pressure center. This setup caused
a band of heavy rainfall to develop, stall and pivot over the South Carolina Lowcountry, resulting in significant rainfall across portions of the Charleston Tri-County.
Radar Timeline
Sept. 30, 2022, 8:49 AM
The first Flash Flood Warning was issued for the Charleston Metro area, including Downtown Charleston, at 6:01 AM.
Radar reflectivity image from 8:49 AM September 30, 2022. Rain has begun to fall across the region, with a band of heavy rainfall about to move onshore to southeastern SC.
Sept. 30, 2022, 11:15 AM
A band of heavy rain moved onshore and began to impact the Charleston Metro Area. Additional Flash Flood Warnings were issued for most of Charleston County and portions of Dorchester and Berkeley Counties.
Radar reflectivity from 11:15 AM on September 30, 2022. Rainfall is shown over most of southeastern SC with a band of heavy rainfall over the Charleston Metro Area. Multiple Flash Flood warnings are also plotted.
Sept. 30, 2022, 1:18 PM
The band of heavy rainfall continued to impact the Charleston Metro Area, almost lining up perfectly with Interstate-26.
Radar reflectivity image from 1:18 PM on September 30, 2022. A band of heavy rainfall is positioned across the Charleston Metro Area, almost perfectly in line with I-26. Multiple Flash Flood warnings are also plotted.
Sept. 30, 2022, 2:40 PM
The heaviest of the rainfall finally moved out of the Charleston Metro Area. Flash Flood Warnings remained in effect as the floodwater was slow to recede.
Hurricane Ian Storm Total Rainfall
Storm total rainfall graphic from Hurricane Ian. Heavy rainfall fell across southeastern SC, while southeastern GA saw little rainfall.
Rainfall totals for Hurricane Ian from 8 AM September 29 through 8 AM October 1. Note the band of heaviest rain which occurred along the Interstate-26 corridor through the Charleston area and into adjacent coastal locations. The rainfall totals can also be viewed here.
Downtown Charleston
Sarah Williams on Twitter: "I've lived on the corner of President and Line for almost 5 years but this is the most water I've ever seen @WeatherFlowCHAS @chswx @CharlestonPD @TrooperBob_SC @wxman77 @JoeySovine pic.twitter.com/EBFmqBlnlH / Twitter"
James Island
Flooding along Bradham Road off of Riverland Drive on James Island. Water is approaching houses along the road.
Flooding along Bradham Road off of Riverland Drive on James Island. Water is approaching houses along the road.
Flooding along Bradham Road off of Riverland Drive on James Island. Water is approaching houses along the road.
Flooding along Bradham Road off of Riverland Drive on James Island. Images via Twitter from @TheJournalizer. View original tweet here
North Charleston
Swipe right or left to view Quarterman Park on a normal day versus with flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Flooding at Quarterman Park in North Charleston. Image on the right obtained via Twitter from @Ndilbeck_Wx. View original tweet here.
Summerville
Swipe right or left to view Sawmill Branch Canal on a normal day versus with flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Flooding along the Sawmill Branch Canal along Ashley Drive in Summerville. Image on right obtained via Twitter from @JulieHPackett. View original tweet here.
West Ashley
Hydrograph depicting minor flooding at Church Creek near West Ashley.
National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service hydrograph for Church Creek near West Ashley. Water levels rose roughly 3 feet Friday, September 30 as a result of Hurricane Ian's rainfall. More gage information along with historic and recent crests can be found here.
Swipe right or left to view the Crosstowne Christian Church off of Bees Ferry Road in West Ashley on a normal day versus with flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Flooding at the Crosstowne Christian Church off of Bees Ferry Road in West Ashley. Image on the right obtained via Twitter from @wxman77. View original tweet here.
Winds
Peak wind values from Hurricane Ian
Highest wind gusts from Hurricane Ian. This Public Information Statement can also be found here.
Downtown Charleston
Tree down across the roadway
Multiple trees down across the roadway
Trees down in Downtown Charleston. Left image: Broad Street near the corner of Colonial Street. Image obtained via Twitter from @annajamesharris. Right image: Meeting Street near Calhoun Street. Image obtained via Twitter from @TrooperBob_SC.
Trooper Bob on Twitter: "CHARLESTON, SC:12:45pm: The wind is starting to peel back a part of this roof in downtown Charleston. #🌀Ian @ABCNews4 pic.twitter.com/E5fVjb4ydj / Twitter"
James & Johns Island
Tree down in the front yard of a house
Tree down in the roadway
Tree down in the roadway
Trees down on both James and Johns Islands. Left image: Clearview Neighborhood on James Island. Image obtained via Twitter from @baltimorecanary. Middle and right image: River Road at Burden Creek. Images obtained via Twitter from @ChasCoSheriff.
North Charleston
Tree down in the roadway
Damage to the side of a building
Tree down in a driveway
Trees down and wind damage in North Charleston. Left image: Baylor near North Blvd. Image obtained via Twitter from @KC8YTK. Middle image: a building off of E Montague. Image obtained via Twitter from @NDilbeck_Wx. Right image: Old Park Road near Buist. Image obtained via Twitter from @NDilbeck_Wx.
West Ashley
A downed tree which hit the side of a house, which is now missing some siding.
Downed tree on a car in a driveway.
Trees down in West Ashley. Left image: Wildwood Townhomes along Stinson Drive. Image obtained via Twitter from @BSHolloway. Right image: Driveway along Marshal Lake Court. Image obtained via Twitter from @wxman77.
National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service hydrograph for Church Creek near West Ashley. Water levels rose roughly 3 feet Friday, September 30 as a result of Hurricane Ian's rainfall. More gage information along with historic and recent crests can be found here.
Highest wind gusts from Hurricane Ian. This Public Information Statement can also be found here.
Rainfall totals for Hurricane Ian from 8 AM September 29 through 8 AM October 1. Note the band of heaviest rain which occurred along the Interstate-26 corridor through the Charleston area and into adjacent coastal locations. The rainfall totals can also be viewed here.
Flooding at Quarterman Park in North Charleston. Image on the right obtained via Twitter from @Ndilbeck_Wx. View original tweet here.
Flooding along the Sawmill Branch Canal along Ashley Drive in Summerville. Image on right obtained via Twitter from @JulieHPackett. View original tweet here.
Flooding at the Crosstowne Christian Church off of Bees Ferry Road in West Ashley. Image on the right obtained via Twitter from @wxman77. View original tweet here.
