Photo: Yevgeniy Sambulov / iStock / Getty Images
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The season’s first freeze watch has been issued for much of the Lowcountry, including the Tri-County area. The watch is in effect for Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Colleton, Beaufort, Jasper, Allendale and Hampton Counties.
The watch will be in effect from Tuesday night through Wednesday morning because of sub-freezing temperatures ranging from the upper 20s inland to around freezing just inland from the coast. Live 5 First Alert meteorologist Joey Sovine said freezing temperatures are expected to last from four to eight hours inland to between one and three hours along the coast.
Lows across the Lowcountry Wednesday morning will range from around 40 at Folly Beach to 34 in Mount Pleasant and down to 28 for Walterboro and Kingstree. North Charleston is expected to wake up to a low Wednesday morning of about 31 while Summerville and Goose Creek will be closer to 29. He said Williamsburg and Georgetown Counties aren’t included in this freeze watch because areas in those counties have already experienced freezing temperatures. Georgetown is forecast to have a low Wednesday morning of 32, right at the freezing mark.
“Once a freeze occurs in the fall for the first time, the warnings and watches are discontinued because then it’s just becoming assumed it will be more mornings like that going forward and any sensitive vegetation that was left uncovered has already died off, so there’s really no need to put out any advance notice out ahead of it,” he said.
Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops and sensitive vegetation and could damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.
Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved