First hurricane of the season has formed. How will Erin impact Myrtle Beach?
The first hurricane of the season, Hurricane Erin, has formed over the Atlantic Ocean.
Northeastern South Carolina is expected to have minimal impacts as a result of the storm, National Weather Service Meteorologist Bob Bright said on Friday afternoon.
“If it does end up coming a lot closer, then we could have more significant impacts,” he said. “ But, [we] don’t want people to be completely off guard the next few days. Just continue to monitor the forecast.”
Bright said the latest forecast is showing that the storm will stay in the Atlantic.
The biggest threats are long period swells that produce dangerous surf conditions and rip currents, a hazardous outlook from the National Weather Service states.
“The weather might end up being pretty nice on the beaches, but the water could be really dangerous,” Bright said.
Ocean conditions could possibly start to pick up starting on Monday, with the storm expected to have the largest impact likely by Tuesday, according to Bright.
A post by the City of Myrtle Beach asks swimmers to pay attention to the flag system on the beaches ahead of Hurricane Erin’s arrival.
“Double-red flags mean the water is closed to the public,” the post read. “A red flag indicates very hazardous swimming conditions. A yellow flag indicates medium-hazardous swimming conditions are present.”
