There is a storm (Tropical Storm Ana) sitting off the Carolina coast right now, and it’s actually creating some gorgeous weather conditions.  It’s also causing the ferry to sit out an occasional run, which provides island residents with either an extra hour to watch the beautiful weather from the island, or a chance to hang out at Morgan Creek Grill and grab a snack and beverage with your friends.  “Tropical Bands of Moisture” have been wandering across the island (although there has been no precipitation today) with some pretty intense downpours, and the pattern is set to continue through tomorrow evening. So, since we know here that we have friends from across the country that have been watching the national weather and wondering, we’re sending some photos to update you on the weather conditions today.

Dewees Island, with Charleston County, is now under a Tropical Storm Watch, while areas to our north, starting at the South Santee river, are under a tropical storm warning.

Truly, it’s gusty on the beach. Forecasters have been saying all along that the biggest threat from this storm to the Charleston Metro area will be mostly in the form of rip currents and beach erosion. This post from 2010 has a lot of information on rip currents. As for beach erosion, we are really thankful that Dewees Island has the setbacks it does: they are often 3x what they are on neighboring islands. So while Isle of Palms is bracing with sandbags:

(click here for the whole story), the Dewees beach (which has actually grown significantly since Irene blew by in 2010) looks like this:
And elsewhere on the island, the combination of moisture rich tropical clouds and intermittent sunshine has provided us with some lovely views: