Clemson officials monitoring Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall later this week

by TigerNet Staff - Mon Sep 10 15:42:59 GMT-04:00 2018

CLEMSON - Multiple states are bracing for a potentially “catastrophic” storm — and evacuation orders have begun along North Carolina's vulnerable barrier islands — as Hurricane Florence continues its menacing churn toward the East Coast, where it is expected to make landfall later this week.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered a mandatory evacuation beginning at noon Tuesday for the state’s entire 187-mile coastline in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

The evacuation includes the state’s eight coastal counties, including Beaufort, Jasper, Charleston, Berkeley, Horry, Georgetown, Colleton and Dorchester.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday that the storm is rapidly intensifying over the Atlantic Ocean and is now a major hurricane, with winds near 130 mph. Florence was upgraded from Category 3 to Category 4 on Monday and is expected to strengthen further before making landfall in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic Thursday night or Friday morning.

No. 2 Clemson hosts Georgia Southern this Saturday at 3:30 pm, and Football SID Ross Taylor told TigerNet that, "We are monitoring the situation and will communicate any updates as needed."

The school released a statement echoing those comments:

Clemson officials continue to monitor weather conditions in preparation for Hurricane Florence, which is expected to impact the East Coast.

Faculty, staff and students should prepare by downloading and reviewing Clemson University’s emergency closing policy and procedures so you’ll know what to do if conditions deteriorate.

University officials monitor local weather conditions before making decisions to cancel classes, close offices or delay openings.

5:20 pm update:

Clemson University classes and all University sponsored activities in the Charleston area have been cancelled and all university facilities in 26 South Carolina counties will be closed beginning Tuesday morning. Gov. Henry McMaster ordered the closures as Hurricane Florence approaches the coast. The affected counties are Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Beaufort, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Colleton, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lexington, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter and Williamsburg.

Classes and offices in the Upstate are not affected by the order.