Due to the latest severe weather forecast from the National Weather Service, which includes the probability of high winds, hail and the possibility of tornadoes, city of Charleston offices, including recreation facilities and the municipal court, will close at 2 p.m. today. The early release does not apply to public safety employees or other personnel needed to provide essential City services.
City of Charleston Emergency Management Director Shannon Scaff said, “As always, the safety of our citizens and employees is our first priority. We encourage citizens to pay attention to local media for the latest weather forecast. The city’s emergency management team, public safety officials, staff from Public Service, Stormwater, Parks, and Traffic and Transportation Departments, and others are prepared and ready to respond to the potential effects of the storm.”
The Charleston Police Department will open a Public Safety Operation Center to manage the public safety response during and after the storm, as needed.
Garbage and trash crews will suspend pickup at 1 p.m. today and resume Friday at 7 a.m. After 1 p.m., residents should secure their garbage carts and any other loose outdoor objects. Once it is safe to do so, residents whose garbage and trash were not collected before 1 p.m. should place their items back out for Friday pick-up.
Traffic and Transportation signal staff is on call to respond to flashing lights or outages. Please note, in the case of a power outage, traffic lights cannot be repaired until power is restored.
Parks and Public Service Department crews are on-call in case clean-up is required.
City recreation activities scheduled for this afternoon and evening have been cancelled.
The Charleston County Bridge Procedures During High Winds document can be viewed here: https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/emergency-management/files/bridgeprocedureshighwinds.pdf.
Useful numbers:
As always, in the case of an emergency call 9-1-1.
To report a downed tree or a traffic light that is out or flashing, call Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch at: 843-743-7200.
To report a power outage, call Dominion Energy at 1-888-333-4465 or Berkeley Electric's Outage Line at 1-888-253-4232.