Charleston Hurricane Tracker
Charleston is a peninsula a few feet above sea level surrounded by marsh, and it floods on sunny days when the tide runs high. Hurricane Hugo on September 21, 1989 is the city's benchmark: a Category 4 at Sullivan's Island just before midnight with roughly 12 feet of surge in the harbor and 20 feet at Bulls Bay, which erased McClellanville and sent hurricane-force winds 200 miles inland to Charlotte. Since Hugo the region has evacuated repeatedly for storms that stayed offshore and still flooded the city: Matthew in 2016, Irma in 2017, which pushed near-record water onto the Battery as an offshore tropical storm, Dorian in 2019, and Ian on September 30, 2022, which made its second US landfall at Georgetown as a Category 1.
Hurricane Helene in 2024 passed to the west and did its damage in the Upstate. Tropical Storm Chantal came ashore at Litchfield Beach on July 6, 2025, the only US landfall of that season. The city's vulnerability is tidal timing: a modest storm at high tide floods the peninsula, the Crosstown, and the sea islands, and a Hugo-class storm today would flood most of the peninsula outright.
Radar
Composite radar, Charleston.
Evacuation zones for Charleston
The Central coastal region, Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties, uses lettered zones set by SCEMD, and the governor orders evacuation by zone. Zone A is the barrier and sea islands, Sullivan's, Isle of Palms, Folly, Kiawah, Seabrook, Edisto, James and Johns islands' coastal edges, and the peninsula. When the Central region is ordered out, SCDOT reverses I-26 so all lanes run to Columbia.
Local emergency management, shelters, roads and outages
Charleston County and the City of Charleston manage evacuations and shelters, SCEMD and SCDOT publish the lane reversal and state evacuation map, and Dominion Energy posts the outage map. These are the links to watch as a storm approaches the Central coast.
What Charleston should watch for
Check the tide table next to the forecast. The difference between a nuisance and a disaster in Charleston is whether the surge arrives at high tide. A modest storm at high tide floods the peninsula, the Crosstown, and the sea islands, while a bigger storm at low tide may leave the same streets dry.
The Ravenel, Ben Sawyer, Isle of Palms connector, Folly and Wappoo bridges close at sustained 40 mph and are the only ways off the islands. If you are on Sullivan's, Isle of Palms, Folly, Kiawah or Seabrook and an evacuation is ordered, leaving late means waiting for the bridges to reopen.
The neighborhoods that flood first are the Battery, the Medical District, the Crosstown, Harleston Village, West Ashley along the Ashley River, and the sea islands. I-26 lane reversal starts with the evacuation order and means no return until the governor lifts it, so once it begins, the route out is one-way to Columbia.
Charleston County's shelters are inland and few, so a coastal evacuation means driving toward Columbia or another inland county. Plan your route and your destination before an order is issued, and keep pet vaccination records with you if you are evacuating with animals.
Frequently asked questions
Is Charleston in an evacuation zone?
The peninsula, the barrier and sea islands, and the marsh-front neighborhoods are in the first zones called. The Central coastal region uses lettered zones set by SCEMD, and Zone A covers Sullivan's, Isle of Palms, Folly, Kiawah, Seabrook, Edisto, James and Johns islands' coastal edges and the peninsula. Look up your address at scemd.org to find your zone.
Where are the hurricane shelters in Charleston?
Charleston County lists shelters when they open, and most are inland in Berkeley and Dorchester counties or further into the Midlands. Charleston County's coastal shelters are few, so a coastal evacuation generally means driving toward Columbia on I-26 once lane reversal is in effect.
When was the last hurricane to hit Charleston?
Hurricane Ian made its second US landfall at Georgetown to the north on September 30, 2022 as a Category 1. Tropical Storm Chantal came ashore at Litchfield Beach on July 6, 2025, the only US landfall of that season. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 was the last direct major hit on Charleston.
How high did the surge get in Hugo?
Hurricane Hugo produced about 12 feet of surge in Charleston Harbor and about 20 feet at Bulls Bay on September 21, 1989, which wiped out McClellanville and sent hurricane-force winds 200 miles inland to Charlotte. The Bulls Bay reading is among the highest recorded on the East Coast in the 20th century.
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