City officials continue to monitor Tropical Storm Idalia’s track and are preparing for impacts in the Charleston area. The city remains at OPCON 3, in tandem with Charleston County, and city Emergency Management remains in close contact with state and regional officials.
City plans and preparations: In anticipation of the storm, City Council will hold a hybrid meeting at 3:30 p.m. today to consider an emergency declaration and set of emergency ordinances. Those attending in-person will meet in the first floor Public Meeting Room at the Gaillard Center (2 George Street). The meeting will also be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
When available, the agenda for the meeting will be posted in the Agenda Center on the city’s website.
Additionally, the city will hold a press conference to provide updates on preparation at 4:30 p.m. today outside the 2 George Street entrance to the Gaillard Center.
City offices, including all city recreation facilities and the City Gallery, will be closed on Wednesday, August 30. The West Ashley Farmers Market scheduled for Wednesday has been cancelled.
Parking garages: The following city parking garages will be open to the public to park their cars for free during the storm. In order to take advantage of the free storm parking, cars must be parked after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 30 and removed by 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 31.
- Aquarium parking garage (24 Calhoun Street)
- Visitor Center parking garage (63 Mary Street)
- Queen Street parking garage (93 Queen Street)
- East Bay/Prioleau parking garage (25 Prioleau Street)
- 99 West Edge parking garage (99 West Edge Street)
- Charleston Tech Center parking garage (997 Morrison Drive)
Citizens are reminded that garage openings are for cars only, and do not apply to boats, trailers or golf carts.
Current forecast: At this time, the primary threat to the Charleston area is heavy rainfall and major coastal flooding associated with King Tides. Charleston is currently forecast to receive 4 to 8 inches of rain Wednesday night into Thursday morning, with 8-foot tides projected for Wednesday night.
Tropical storm-force winds and heavy rainbands are expected to arrive as early as Wednesday morning.
Charleston and Berkeley Counties are both currently under Tropical Storm Warnings.
Additional information: For the most accurate and up-to-date weather forecasts, residents should stay tuned to the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service Charleston websites, as well as local media and the FEMA app.
Additional hurricane preparedness information can be found at www.scemd.org. Citizens can also monitor weather and tidal conditions via TideEye, the city’s web and mobile friendly GIS tool, linked here: https://gis.charleston-sc.gov/tideeye/.
The Citizen Services Desk is staffed to answer citizens’ questions about storm preparations and can be reached at 843-724-7311.