From Mayor Jason Buelterman:
9/13 3:15 pm Tybee Hurricane Florence Update:
The 2 pm National Hurricane Center (NHC) update is at the bottom of this email.
In both the 11 am and 2 pm NHC updates, the projected path of Florence no longer includes Tybee. Based on their forecasts, we still have a 40% chance of tropical storm forces winds affecting Tybee. Tropical storm force winds are anywhere from 39 mph to 73 mph.
We are not in a hurricane, tropical storm or storm surge warning at this time.
We are in a rip current warning and have closed the beach to swimmers as a result.
Tides are currently a foot above normal but there is still no expectation that Highway 80 will need to be shut down although like everything with Florence, this could change.
We had a few questions from citizens that I wanted to follow up on:
1-Were trash cans removed from the beach?
Yes. All trash cans were removed from the beach as part of our City’s OPCON 3 protocols.
2-Will the Bull or Lazaretto Creek bridges be closed?
At this time, it is not expected that the State will close these two bridges. This is subject to change if something changes in the track forecast or projected/actual intensity of Florence.
Another update will be posted after the 5 pm advisory from the NHC.