SEVERE WEATHER CENTER
SC Active Alerts
Real-time watches, warnings, and advisories for South Carolina — direct from the National Weather Service.
SOUTH CAROLINA SAFETY REMINDERS
TORNADO WARNING
- • Go to the lowest floor of a sturdy building immediately
- • Get to an interior room away from windows — a bathroom or closet
- • Cover your head and neck with your arms
- • Never shelter under a highway overpass
- • If outside with no shelter, lie flat in a low ditch
THUNDERSTORM / LIGHTNING
- • When thunder roars, go indoors — SC leads the Southeast in lightning deaths
- • Stay inside for 30 minutes after the last thunder clap
- • Avoid tall trees, open fields, and bodies of water
- • Stay off corded phones and away from plumbing
- • Unplug electronics before the storm arrives
FLOODING
- • Turn Around, Don't Drown — 6 inches of water can knock you down
- • 12 inches of moving water can carry away a small vehicle
- • Never drive around road closed barricades
- • Move to higher ground before water rises — don't wait
- • Avoid walking in moving floodwater
HURRICANE / TROPICAL STORM
- • Follow evacuation orders immediately — do not wait
- • SC coast can see storm surge of 10+ feet in a major hurricane
- • Prepare a 72-hour emergency kit before the season
- • The eye passing over does not mean the storm is over
- • Stay off roads until officials declare them safe
EXTREME HEAT
- • SC summers regularly push heat indices above 105°F
- • Drink water every 15–20 minutes when working outdoors
- • Never leave children or pets in a parked vehicle
- • Check on elderly neighbors during heat advisories
- • Know the signs of heat stroke: hot dry skin, confusion, no sweating
WINTER WEATHER / ICE
- • SC roads ice quickly — bridges and overpasses freeze first
- • Even a thin glaze of ice makes roads extremely dangerous
- • Stock up on supplies before the storm — stores empty fast
- • Keep pipes dripping during hard freezes to prevent bursting
- • Never use a generator, grill, or camp stove indoors
For official emergency guidance visit SC Emergency Management Division or call 1-800-868-0502.
Alerts sourced from the National Weather Service. Updated every 5 minutes.