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Hurricane Irma Washes Away Folly Boat Into James Island Backyard

Featured Image Credit: WCIV

The Folly Beach Boat is a staple to the Charleston Community. It’s hard to miss while you’re driving along the highway on your way to Folly Beach. It’s always painted differently with a different design and a different message. It all started when Hurricane Hugo Hit in 1989 and the boat washed ashore on the side of the highway. Now, 28 years later, Hurricane Irma has washed it away and into the backyard of a James Island resident.

People from all over come to Folly to cover the landmark with painted messages for all occasions such as birthdays, weddings, graduations, disasters, encouraging notes, and much more. The boat was most recently painted with “Godspeed Florida” and “This Too Shall Pass” in honor of Hurricane Irma hitting the coast.

folly boat

Stephanie Lee took this photo of the famous Folly Boat on Sunday night and it had messages of support for the Florida Keys and others impacted by Hurricane Irma. Image Credit: Stephanie Lee

Then Monday came and so did Irma….

Charleston did not get directly hit by the hurricane but experienced violent winds, heavy rain, and tons of flooding. The Folly Boat has swept away with the storm and the Charleston community was threatened with losing the boat along with all the memories. Thankfully, the sentimental boat turned up in a James Island backyard after floating a half-mile and crashing into a local dock owned by Chris John. Social media kept people updated about the boat’s disappearance and rediscovery.

“All the sudden, it was just floating by,” said Chris. The boat currently resides in his front yard. We hope the boat will be able to be returned to its original location and provide messages to the community again. The condition and if it will be returned to its home is still unknown.

The messages this boat has endured is important to the people and community.  The boat has become a part of Folly Beach life and we are glad that we did not lose it for good!

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hurricane

Forecasters Say Tropical Threats Are Looming For South Carolina

Featured Image Credit: BBC

It was the beginning of summer when we said Charleston was in for an “above average” hurricane season, but now, a federal forecaster is calling for far more hurricane activity expected for the rest of the season, saying the next few months could be “extremely active.”

Historically, nine of every 10 hurricanes occur after August 10, said Phil Klotzback of the Tropical Meteorology Project.

This year, the so-called Bermuda high with its hurricane-steering winds is weakening but also shifting back and forth, which could nudge cyclones either toward us or away from us. Since spring, the waters offshore the Southeast have been hot enough to muster up some cyclones…which could strengthen into a hurricane in a very short amount of time.

hurricane

Image Credit: CNBC

“At this stage of the game, I find myself focusing more time and effort on the individual ‘could be’ features because the set-up off the U.S. southeast coast could get a tropical cyclone spun up quickly close to the beach,” said Mark Malsick, the S.C. Climate Office severe weather liaison.

“High pressures building down from the north can help spawn ‘home grown’ tropical cyclones along tail ends of cold fronts over our ripe waters,” said meteorologist Shea Gibson of WeatherFlow, a Charleston-based company.

hurricane

Image Credit: Charleston Daily

Even a relatively weaker storm could wreak some serious havoc this season. We all remember Hurricane Matthew that happened last October. It scraped up the coast as a minimal, non-threatening hurricane but it did more than $100 million in damage from Hilton Head Island all the way to Myrtle Beach and killed 43 people.

NOAA lead forecaster Gerry Bell said all the dominant factors that stir up a hurricane are perfectly and alarmingly present this year, including favorable winds and much warmer-than-average water.

Most of us have lived through a hurricane in Charleston. Whether it was Hugo in 1989 or Matthew just last year…. we know that vulnerable feeling when Mother Nature decides to wreak havoc. There’s nothing we can do about it besides be prepared, stay calm, and make smart decisions. Here is a helpful guide to getting through a hurricane.

Learn more from our source.