How Hurricane Idalia affected Aiken and North Augusta

Matthew Hensley, Aiken Standard, S.C.
Updated ·3 min read

Aug. 31—Idalia, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved through Georgia, caused a near-record-high tide in Charleston late Wednesday and dropped heavy rains on large swaths of South Carolina before moving off the coast of North Carolina.

Aiken County missed the brunt of the storm. Here's what we know about Idalia's impact on Aiken and North Augusta:

— Damage: City workers removed downed trees from Meadow Drive, the intersection of Bissell Road and Dibble Road, and Crosland Park near the intersection of Alfred Street and Chatfield Street because they blocked roadways, Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said. Aiken County Emergency Management Director Paul Matthews said county crews responded to several downed trees that blocked roadways, primarily in the Beech Island and Graniteville areas. "We had one road closure on Church Road near Spann Hammond Road in Beech Island because of flooding," he said.

— Warnings/Watches: Aiken County spent much of Wednesday under a tropical storm warning, which the National Weather Service canceled around 11 p.m. A flood watch ended earlier in the night. While a National Hurricane Center's projection posted showed a marginal chance (at least 5%, but less than 15%) of flash flooding in the area overnight, the latest assessment does not include that risk.

— Rainfall: Some nearby counties saw as much as 9 inches of rain from Idalia. Aiken County saw much less. Rainfall tallies for the county generally ranged from 2-3 1/2 inches, although a volunteer weather observer 8.6 miles southeast of Aiken recorded nearly 5 inches of rain.

— Wind: Aiken County seems to have avoided tropical-storm-force winds as the Idalia moved through the area. Bush Field recorded sustained winds of 21 mph and gusts of up to 30 mph. Tropical storms have sustained winds of 39-73 mph.

— Outages: While tens of thousands lost power as Idalia brought tropical-storm-force winds across the Lowcountry, Aiken County saw few power outages during the course of the storm Wednesday. As of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, there were about 25,000 customers without power across South Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us. Just two of those were in Aiken.

— Forecast: The National Weather Service predicts Aiken will have a sunny Thursday with a high near 81.

Delays and closings

In anticipation of possible flooding, a number of schools and government agencies announced schedule changes for Thursday.

— Aiken County Public School District canceled class Thursday. Students will make up the day Oct. 20.

— Fox Creek High School announced a two-hour delay for Thursday, with drop-off starting at 9:30 a.m. and classes beginning at 10:15. First-period classes were canceled.

— Edgefield County School District said it would operate on a two-hour delay Thursday.

— Barnwell School District 45 and Barnwell County Consolidated School District announced Wednesday that Thursday would be an e-learning day.

— USC Aiken, which suspended operations at 3 p.m. Wednesday, planned to resume at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

— Aiken Technical College reported it would follow Aiken County government operations, closing at 3 p.m. Wednesday and opening at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

— City of Aiken offices, which also closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday, planned to reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday.

— The City of North Augusta, which also closed Wednesday afternoon, anticipated reopening at 10:30 a.m.

Reporter Dede Biles contributed to this story.

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For the latest on Idalia and its statewide impact, visit postandcourier.com/hurricanewire/.