Is Horry County on the ‘dirty side’ of Hurricane Ian? What does that mean for Myrtle

Hurricane Ian is off the northeast coast of South Carolina and will be onshore in just a few hours, making already dangerous conditions in Horry County even worse.

Like every hurricane, Ian has a dirty side, which, as the name suggests, is a place no one would want to be because it’s usually considered the area with the most threatening weather.

“While any part of a hurricane can be life threatening - we typically see the potential for higher storm surge on the right front side of the storm with respect to its motion.” said Steven Pfaff, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

He said that the right quadrant would impact Horry, Gerogetown and Brunswick counties as of now.

Hurricane Ian is about 90 miles south of Myrtle Beach, with winds up to 85 miles per hour, according to an NWS update at about noon.

Horry County remains under a hurricane warning and a storm surge warning. There is also a tornado watch in effect for the county until 10 p.m.

Friday’s weather also includes tropical storm force winds and hurricane force winds near the water, meteorologists predict.

Ian is expected to weaken tonight as it travels further inland.

This story was originally published September 30, 2022 at 12:57 PM.