Hurricane Ian appears headed for South Carolina as of Thursday, after already dealing untold damage as it cut a path across Florida Wednesday evening through Thursday morning. During its landfall in Florida, it was a Category 4 hurricane. It weakened while on land, but on Thursday afternoon it was upgraded from a topical storm to a Category 1 hurricane once again.
In the lead up to its onslaught on Florida, webcams were a valuable resource, allowing the public to witness the terrible effects from afar. Intrepid internet users even used webcam recordings to create a time-lapse view of the frighteningly quick and devastating storm surge that Ian brought about.
Today, thousands of eyes will turn to webcams around South Carolina, as well as in northern Georgia.
Hilton Head webcam shows the coastal effects of Hurricane Ian before its South Carolina landfall
This webcam is located at the Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina. As the storm strengthens and draws near, viewers can watch the weather as it starts to impact Quarterdeck, a lighthouse-themed seafood restaurant, which normally serves resort attendees.
Webcam in North Charleston, South Carolina shows a normally peaceful birdhouse amid Hurricane Ian
An anonymous YouTube user in North Charleston, South Carolina set up a webcam to show the view of a forested area, including a roadway, and view of what must normally be a peaceful birdhouse.
NOTE: This webcam was no longer live as of 6:00p.m. ET. We’ll update if it goes live again.
Webcam in Savannah Georgia shows Ian’s effects on an Osprey habitat
Cornell Lab of Ornithology operates a webcam that follows the developments of a family of Ospreys in Savannah Georgia, which is near the coast and close to the border with South Carolina, putting the camera, and the birds, in the potential path of Ian, particularly if it strengthens into a hurricane once again.
How is Hurricane Ian related to climate change?
Climate change is impacting hurricanes. Some of these impacts are clear, particularly more serious rainfall and historic flooding, along with higher storm surges. Other impacts, like how the relentless warming oceans are affecting how strong these storms grow, are an intensive and ongoing area of research.