AC Repair in Charleston, SC

LOWCOUNTRY, S.C. (WCIV) — It's all hands on deck Tuesday as the Lowcountry braces for Mother Nature's full fury.

A midlatitude cyclone coming off the southern Rockies will strengthen rapidly as it moves to the NE bringing with it snow to the Midwest and Appalachians, flooding to the mid-Atlantic, and severe storms to the South.

That last threat will be our main concern on Tuesday here in the Lowcountry. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has highlighted much of the Gulf Coast and SE US for severe storms.

Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service Charleston announced storm warnings are in effect for Charleston Harbor and nearshore waters from South Santee to Edisto Beach extended 20 nautical miles. They said gale warnings are in effect from Edisto Beach to Altamaha Sound.

The National Weather Service Charleston also announced Monday afternoon a high wind warning is in effect Tuesday and Tuesday night for tidal Berkeley, Charleston, Coastal Colleton, Beaufort, Coastal Jasper & Coastal Chatham Counties. Residents can expect winds 30 to 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 miles per hour.

At wind speeds of this height, people need to prepare for possible power outages and downed trees, the National Weather Service Charleston said.

Breaking down the threats by time period.

Early Tuesday will start out a bit wet and windy as the storm's pressure gradient means winds will pick up rapidly out of the south. Wind Advisories are in effect for all inland locations.

Expect steady winds of 25-35 mph with gusts in excess of 45 mph. The beaches will especially feel the wind and as such have a High Wind Watch.

Winds out of the south will blow steadily at 35-45 mph with gusts in excess of 60 mph possible.

The morning high tide at 5:57am will need to be watched closely as the wind gives the tide an extra boost.

Tuesday to bring heavy rain, damaging winds, and severe thunderstorms to the Lowcountry on Jan. 9, 2024. (WCIV)

Meteorologist Chris Nestman with the forecast as of 7 a.m. Monday morning.

Lowcountry school districts adjust operations ahead of storm threat

School districts across the Lowcountry are changing their normal operations as the area braces for a midlatitude cyclone coming off the southern Rockies that threatens to bring flooding to the mid-Atlantic, and severe storms to the South Tuesday.

Charleston County School District announced Monday morning all district schools and offices are now moving to an eLearning and remote work day on Tuesday, Jan. 9, due to the potential impact of the storm system.

School officials in Dorchester School District Two announced Monday morning they will also be having an e-learning day Tuesday, Jan. 9. and all school buildings will be closed. Extracurricular activities planned for Tuesday have also been canceled.

The Georgetown County School District announced Monday morning the all schools and facilities in the school district will be closed on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. All school activities, including athletic events and practices, scheduled for Tuesday, are canceled or postponed.

The school district said Georgetown County is an approved e-learning school district but since they are returning from winter break, they've decided to schedule e-learning for Tuesday, Feb. 20 to ensure teachers have enough time to plan lessons and ensure students have their needed devices,

The Berkeley County School District said they are monitoring the impending storm, and as of Monday morning no changes have been made to school or office schedules.

READ MORE: Lowcountry school districts cancel, shift to e-Learning ahead of major storm threat

Some road closures downtown should be expected.

We do NOT anticipate this will rival our high tide from our December Nor'easter.

In addition to problems during the morning high tide, rough surf and beach erosion will be an issue for much of the day.

Early Tuesday will start out a bit wet and windy as the storm's pressure gradient means winds will pick up rapidly out of the south. Wind Advisories are in effect for all inland locations.

Expect steady winds of 25-35 mph with gusts in excess of 45 mph. The beaches will especially feel the wind and as such have a High Wind Watch.

Winds out of the south will blow steadily at 35-45 mph with gusts in excess of 60 mph possible. The morning high tide at 5:57 a.m. will need to be watched closely as the wind gives the tide an extra boost.

Some road closures downtown should be expected. We do NOT anticipate this will rival our high tide from our December Nor'easter. In addition to problems during the morning high tide, rough surf and beach erosion will be an issue for much of the day.

By midday, the winds will continue to be gusty out of the south, but the morning rain should temporarily taper off.

With those gusty winds, SCDOT does not typically close bridges for wind, but they will issue advisories for high profile vehicles.

Obviously, any accidents that happen due to the weather can close those bridges. In addition to issues with the wind, we'll have to watch for the possibility of a few pop-up storms ahead of the main line of storms.

Some of these can briefly gain enough strength to be classified as severe. The main threat from storms will be later in the day.

By afternoon, 2-6pm, the main line of strong to severe storms is expected to push through. Expect strong microburst winds with gusts of 60-70 mph.

Tree damage, downed powerlines, minor shingle damage will be possible. Within that line of severe storms, quick spin up tornadoes will be possible.

Remember, if a tornado warning is issued, take shelter in the center of a sturdy building on the lowest floor, and don't leave that place until the warning is lifted.

By evening, 7pm onward, our storms will move our rapidly. We'll still stick with gust easterly winds through parts of Wednesday, but the main threat will be over.

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The State Ports Authority wants to buy the shuttered WestRock paper mill property adjacent to its North Charleston Terminal, and Gov. Henry McMaster is proposing taxpayers foot the bill.

McMaster wants legislators to find $55 million in this year’s budget to help the maritime agency with “land acquisition for future economic development,” according to a letter he sent Jan. 5 to the General Assembly.

The Post and Courier has learned the money would be used to buy the mill site for the SPA, which would expand its next-door terminal onto the property.

The SPA did not respond to a request for comment Friday. A WestRock spokesman said the company had no comment.

Barbara Melvin, the SPA’s chief executive, told The Post and Courier last year that the maritime agency was interested in acquiring the mill site.

“Of course, we’re going to look at any type of additional port capacity that exists on a harbor that we worked so hard to make … an interstate highway for ships, so to speak,” Melvin said Oct. 11, before her annual “State of the Port” address. “So yes, of course, we’re looking at that. We’re always looking for ways to increase our capacity. That’s our currency. Port capacity is our currency. If you can find that on an already quite capable harbor you have to take a look at that.”

The expansion would be part of a bigger, long-term plan to replace the Don Holt Bridge on Interstate 526 with a taller structure so bigger container ships can reach the North Charleston Terminal just up the Cooper River. The current span, at 155 feet, limits the port site to what are now considered smaller cargo vessels.

The SPA doesn’t face such navigation constraints at its two other terminals to the south because the Ravenel Bridge, at 186 feet, has enough clearance for the big ships.

WestRock put the waterfront property in play last May, when it announced it was shutting down the 500-worker paper mill after 86 years of operation.

WASHINGTON — The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American labor market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates.

The Jan. 5 report from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that December’s job gain exceeded the 173,000 that were added in November. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent — the 23rd straight month that joblessness has come in below 4 percent.

Some of the details, though, may disappoint the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve, who might now be inclined to delay any cuts in their benchmark interest rate. Average hourly wages rose 4.1 percent from a year earlier, up from a 4 percent gain in November, which could make it harder for the Fed to slow inflation back to its 2 percent target.

Still, taken as a whole, the December jobs report reflected a healthy economy, with steady job growth, rising wages and cooling inflation. It provided the latest evidence that the Fed may be able to achieve a notoriously difficult “soft landing,” in which the central bank would conquer inflation without causing a steep recession.

Yet despite the low unemployment and easing inflation, polls show that many Americans are dissatisfied with the economy. That disconnect, which will likely be an issue in the 2024 elections, has puzzled economists and political analysts.

A key factor is the public’s exasperation with higher prices. Though inflation has been falling more or less steadily for a year and a half, the lingering financial and psychological effects of the worst bout of inflation in four decades have soured many Americans on the economy. Prices are still 17 percent higher than they were before the inflation surge began and are still rising.

Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. A poll conducted in November by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about three-quarters of respondents described the economy as poor. Two-thirds said their expenses had risen.

Asked why many Americans remain dissatisfied by the economy, acting labor secretary Julie Su said Friday that “part of the unfortunate reality is we live in polarized times.″

Many of the Biden administration’s domestic policies, including its investment in infrastructure, are “wildly popular,” Su said.

Despite their stated discontent with the economy, Americans have kept spending. Average hourly pay has outpaced inflation over the past year, leaving them with more money to spend. Indeed, as they did for much of 2023, consumers, a huge engine for U.S. economic growth, hit the stores in November, shopped online, went out to restaurants or traveled.

The December jobs report did contain some cautionary notes. Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, noted that the government revised down its previous estimate of job gains for October and November by a combined 71,000. And just as in November, December’s job growth was concentrated in just a few industries: Leisure and hospitality companies added 40,000, health care 38,000 and governments 52,000.

Indeed, from October through December, private-sector employers have added just 115,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since companies were laying off workers in mid-2020 during COVID-19 lockdowns.

In addition, the proportion of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one fell in December to 62.5 percent, the lowest level since February. The Fed prefers having more people in the labor force to help ease pressure on employers to sharply boost pay to attract or retain workers. Companies typically pass their higher labor costs on to consumers by raising prices. In December, the number of Americans in the labor force actually fell by 676,000, the sharpest such drop since January 2021.

Fed chief Jerome Powell had warned of hard times ahead after the central bank began jacking up interest rates in the spring of 2022 to attack high inflation. Most economists predicted that the much higher borrowing costs that resulted would cause a recession, with layoffs and rising unemployment, in 2023.

Yet the recession never arrived, and none appears to be on the horizon. The nation’s labor market is still producing enough jobs to keep the unemployment rate near historic lows. For all of 2023, employers added 2.7 million jobs, a healthy gain but down from 4.8 million jobs added in 2022.

“I anticipate 2024 is going to continue to be a bit of a (job) candidate-driven market, with more openings than we have candidates,″ said Amy Glaser, senior vice president at the staffing firm Adecco.

Still, Glaser suggested, as hiring slows, employers won’t likely have to resort to the signing and retention bonuses that were needed in the past few years to attract or keep employees.

Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times, lifting it to a 22-year high of about 5.4 percent. Those higher rates have made borrowing costlier for companies and households, but they are on their way toward achieving their goal: Defeating inflation.

Consumer prices were up 3.1 percent in November from a year earlier, down drastically from a four-decade high 9.1 percent in June 2022. The Fed has been satisfied enough with the progress so far that it hasn’t raised rates since July and has signaled that it expects to make three rate cuts this year.

Still, Friday’s robust jobs and wage figures could lead the Fed to push back the start of any interest rate cuts if it decides that inflation will take longer to tame.

“Today’s report speaks to the bumpy road ahead for the Fed’s journey back to 2 percent inflation,” said Andrew Patterson, senior international economist at Vanguard.

Patterson suggested that the Fed might have to wait for the second half of the year to start cutting rates, longer than many investors had expected.

In the meantime, many employers are still finding it hard to fill jobs. They include Isidore Kharasch, who runs Hospitality Works, which provides consulting services to restaurants, bars and hotels.

Kharasch said his restaurant clients are finding it easier to find servers than they did a year ago. But hiring culinary workers, including chefs and front line cooks remains difficult. Many such workers didn’t like their hours and have taken other types of jobs. That trend, Kharasch said, has forced some restaurants to simplify menus or reduce their selection.

“It’s constantly adjusting the menu to fit where our staff is at any one time,” he said.

Kharasch said he thinks the minimum wage increases that are taking effect this year in some states will result in more automation, increased prices and a reduction in hours of operation to save money. Beginning April 1, California will require fast food companies to pay their workers at least $20 an hour.

Krystle Phillips, owner of Roll Ice Cream LLC in St. Petersburg, Fla., which sells rolled ice cream machines, ingredients and supplies to ice cream trucks and stores, is struggling to find workers willing to work full time. Job candidates are demanding higher pay.

Short of help, Phillips, who considers herself an expert in refrigeration and logistics, has had to get up to speed on writing recipes and accounting.

“It’s been hard to hire these specialized positions,″ she said.

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From The Bachelor Mansion to a sprawling Southern dream home!

After getting engaged on Thursday’s Golden Bachelor finale, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist tell PEOPLE they plan to start their lives together in Charleston, South Carolina.

“One of the things that I think fate played a hand in is the possibility of where we might wind up living,” Gerry says. “For the last couple of years, when my family gets together, I've talked about moving to South Carolina, and it's an idea I've toyed with. And then in conversation with Theresa, a private moment, she's saying, ‘Well, yeah, my son lives near Charleston in South Carolina.’”

Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner Told Fiancée in the Fantasy Suite He Planned to Propose: ‘I Was Very Confident’ (Exclusive)

Gerry currently lives in Indiana and Theresa hails from New Jersey, but that conversation made it easy for the couple to decide where they should reside.

“And all of a sudden it's like, there's a big problem that is gone,” Gerry says. “The issue of compromising on where to live and how to reconcile families and all of that is, it's no longer an issue.”

The reality stars hope their families will visit often. “We want to have a house that's so inviting that everyone would want to come,” Theresa, 70, says. “Maybe a pool so they all want to come and have fun.”

Lucky for Gerry and Theresa, their kids have already bonded.

“Our daughters, they're like sisters now,” the father of two says.

Theresa agrees. “My daughter says, ‘Thank you for giving me two more sisters,’” the financial services professional says. “She has a sister-in-law already but now, two more sisters.”

After his hometown date with Theresa’s family, Gerry saw her family as his own.

“I looked at Jen and it was like, ‘This could be my own daughter,’” Gerry says of his fiancée’s daughter. “ I literally was having those thoughts because she was so kind and she was so sensitive to the situation, to her mom and to me. The whole dynamic just worked.”

Theresa and Gerry plan to bring their families together to celebrate Hanukkah this month. “We'll have a holiday dinner together with everyone,” Gerry says.

As they’ve continued getting to know each other over phone calls and text messages these last few months, Gerry and Theresa learned they share similar views on one very important — albeit unromantic — facet of combining their lives.

“Financially, we're the same,” Gerry says. “The way we handle money is the same.”

Theresa clarifies that that means the pair consider themselves “somewhat frugal.”

While Gerry and Theresa look forward to moving in together, they don’t have an exact plan for when that will happen.

Golden Bachelor’s Fiancée Says She Started 'Slinking Away' When Gerry Turner Misspoke During Proposal (Exclusive)

“We've had conversations and we've narrowed it down to a time window, but that's always in flux,” the retired restaurateur says. “We have two homes to sell. We have other events that we're going to have to deal with and so forth.”

One major event: their live, televised wedding that will air on ABC in January.

“​​When you're in your 20s and you put something off for a year, it's a very small percentage of your life,” Gerry says. “In your 70s, the clock ticks faster. And I'm 100% certain I found the right girl for me. So it's like, why not?”

Gerry can’t wait for his future to unfold, but Theresa keeps him grounded.

“Fortunately, Theresa is the more patient, I think, of the two of us,” he says. “Me, I'm like, ‘Come on, let's go, it's time to go have fun. Life's a wasting. Let's go.’”

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The Golden Wedding will air Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (AP) — An intense late-year storm barreled up the East Coast on Sunday with heavy rains and strong winds that shattered rainfall records, forced water rescues from flooded streets and washed out holiday celebrations.

Authorities rescued dozens of motorists stranded by floodwaters in South Carolina’s waterfront community of Georgetown, Georgetown County spokesperson Jackie Broach said. More than 9 inches (22.9 centimeters) of rain fell in the area situated between Charleston and Myrtle Beach since late Saturday.

“It’s not just the areas that we normally see flooding, that are flood-prone,” Broach said. “It’s areas that we’re not really expecting to have flooding issues...It’s like a tropical storm, it just happens to be in December.”

The tide in Charleston Harbor hit its fourth highest level on record and was “well above the highest tide for a non-tropical system,” according to the National Weather Service.

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Rising sea levels driven by human-caused climate change mean even relatively weak weather systems can now produce storm surges previously associated with hurricanes, said Meteorologist Jeff Masters, co-founder of the Weather Underground. In South Carolina that’s worsened by natural subsidence along the coast.

By 2050, Charleston is expected to see another 14 inches (35.6 centimeters) of sea level rise, Masters said.

“In Charleston, this is the sixth time this year already that they’ve had a major coastal flood. Most of those would not have been major flooding 100 years ago, because the sea level has risen that much,” he said.

The storm was forecast to gain strength as it tracked along the Georgia and Carolina coasts, producing heavy rain and gusty winds before sweeping into New England by Monday morning, the weather service said. Wind gusts of 35 mph to 45 mph (56 kph to 72 kph) could bring down trees, especially on saturated ground.

There were numerous road closures in Charleston and across South Carolina’s Lowcountry, while stranded cars littered streets.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths in Georgetown County, Broach said. Gusty winds were strong enough to topple some signs and trees. Outdoor holiday decorations were tossed about, she said.

Water rescues also took place on Kiawah and Seabrook islands, according to media outlets.

Charleston International Airport had more than 3 inches (8 centimeters) of rain in 24 hours — almost five times the prior record set in 1975, according to the National Weather Service.

Farther up the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding was expected Sunday, according to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, North Carolina.

There were more than 31,000 power outages in South Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us, along with over 14,000 in North Carolina and more than 11,000 in Florida.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned of a possible 2 to 4 inches (5.1 to 10.2 centimeters) of rain, powerful winds and potential flooding in parts of the state. Flood watches were in effect in many locations in New York City, and high wind warnings were activated around the city and Long Island.

“We will get through this storm, but preparation is the key,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said. City officials told residents to expect several hours of rain and possible delays during Monday morning’s commute.

Colder air behind the storm will trigger lake-effect snow across the Great Lakes toward the Appalachians and upstate New York into Tuesday, the weather service said.

The storm dumped up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain across Florida, inundating streets and forcing the cancellation of boat parades and other holiday celebrations.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings and minor flooding advisories for a wide swath of the state, from the southwest Gulf Coast to Jacksonville. Major airports remained open, however, at the start of the busy holiday travel season.

“Today is not the day to go swimming or boating!” Sheriff Carmine Marceno of Lee County, on Florida’s southwestern coast, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Coastal advisories were issued for much of Florida as strong winds churned waters in the Gulf and along the north Atlantic coast.

The storm could be good news for residents in southwest Florida who have been facing water restrictions and drought conditions heading into what normally is the region’s dry season.

The weather service also warned of 2 to 4 inches (5.1 to 10.2 centimeters) of rain in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, with the heaviest expected late Sunday night, and possible urban and small stream flooding and at least minor flooding to some rivers through Monday.

Forecasters also warned of strong winds in coastal areas, gale-force winds offshore, and moderate coastal flooding along Delaware Bay and widespread minor coastal flooding elsewhere.

The weather service said there is a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of New England through Monday morning, with the potential for flash flooding. Northern New England is expected to get the heaviest rain Monday through Tuesday morning.

DaVee Keesee has been slowly introducing her Little Peanut Pastries to Charleston, baking and delivering treats to coffee shops, cafés and restaurants such as Muddy Waters, Mudhouse Charleston, Hank’s Seafood, Alcove Market, Brown Dog Deli and King BBQ.

In November, the former WildFlour and Millers All Day pastry chef opened her very own bakery, selling cinnamon pecan scones, blueberry muffins, house-made toaster pastries, savory focaccia bread and more at 2408 Ashley River Road in West Ashley.

Those who swing by Little Peanut Bake Shop will find Keesee’s mother Julie working the front of the small shop, previously home to St. Honoré Pastry.

Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, the retail bakery is just part of the operation. Taking over the West Ashley space also allowed Keesee and her baking team of three women to exit a commissary kitchen, a move that will help ramp up the wholesale side of the small business.

“It’s nice walking into a place and it being your own,” Keesee said. “My staff is all really enjoying having their spaces and not having to share a kitchen or oven.”

Keesee eventually plans to open the bakery, equipped with multiple tables and a small coffee bar, Wednesday through Sunday. For updates and to place an online order, visit littlepeanutpastries.com.

An underrated Charleston sunset view can be found by peering through the retractable windows at downtown bar Local 616. The scene improves when japchae and curry chicken bog are on the way.

Dishes such as those and others that take inspiration from Korea, India and other countries in Asia are served at the latest pop-up to take over Local 616’s cubby-hole kitchen, Scallion by Roti Rolls. The pop-up replaced Funky Wunders, which left Local 616 last summer.

Those who have visited the Charleston Farmers Market, local music festivals and other events have likely heard of Roti Rolls, a 14-year-old food truck serving “farm-to-truck” favorites like the Eye-Opener: smoked whole hog, a sunny-side-up egg, kimchi and hoisin sauce.

First launched by Corey Burke, Roti Rolls now operates two trucks, in Charleston and Atlanta, after Burke partnered up with Alton Ankersen, who on most days is the one leading Scallion by Roti Rolls inside Local 616’s snug kitchen.

Ankersen describes the pop-up as Indian Asian fusion with a concentration on vegan-forward items like the buffalo chickpea sandwich with vegan blue cheese. With the latest menu focused on sandwiches and bowls, there are plenty of meaty entrees, too. Ankersen said the skirt steak sandwich — filled with arugula, fried onions and provolone cheese — is one of the most popular recent additions.

Scallion by Roti Rolls is open 4 p.m.-midnight Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, follow the pop-up on Instagram @scallionchs.