The Great Flood of Charleston SC, USA

D

dalethorn

Guest
These are at high tide - a wetland adjacent to the Cooper River just 3/4 mile from where the river empties into the ocean out of Charleston Harbor. The first image is with the Leica D-Lux, taken Saturday around 13:30, with an extremely gloomy sky. It looks like the camera focused on the near foliage, but the focus was further out and I think it looks like it does because of the dullness and the rain that was in the air. The second image is with the Leica Q, taken Sunday around 14:30, with a much less gloomy sky. The advantage in resolution is partly the 24 -vs- 12 mp advantage of the Q, and partly due to much better light today (note the 1/125 and 1/1250 shutter speeds).

For nearly 3 days, a so-called low-pressure cell existed over South Carolina, almost exactly the height of the state, and a few hundred miles in width. This low-pressure cell was sucking in vast amounts of moisture from the hurricane moving slowly Northeast, and we didn't just set new records for rainfall - the new records are double the old records in many places. Charleston is well-acquainted with flooding, and somewhat prepared for emergencies, but the extreme deluge was well beyond expectations. Worse off yet are inland areas not accustomed to a lot of flooding, and with the low-pressure cell still active and moving slowly North, other areas of the state are on emergency curfews to keep people off the streets.

Leica D-Lux, f5.6, 1/125 handheld, ISO 200.
Mtpleasant_Park20_s.jpg


Leica Q, f5.6, 1/1250 handheld, ISO 200.
Mtpleasant_Park21_s.jpg
 
Frequent flooding effects much of the South Texas especially those related to the tropical moisture with low pressure. Can certain emphasis. Hope it is over soon. Thanks for sharing.
 
My daughter lives a couple blocks from the beach near Wilmington, NC and they got hit by the edge of the storm that leveled you folks yesterday, with a bit of water in their lower floor, but nothing too serious. But, man, seeing that weather map with all of the rain in the world coming straight up into South Carolina, was really scary looking. I was glad to see a couple of posts by you yesterday, knowing you were in Charleston. Stay safe down there...

-Ray
 
Thanks for the thoughts. A lesson learned, that mother nature can double-up some effects and create things we never expected. One place that I do hear about occasionally is the Outer Banks of North Carolina - they get hit hard by tropical storms. With last year's winter and this late hurricane, the East Coast has suffered a lot the past year.
 
Here's something to ponder - I can't explain this, but (screen capture from WeatherBug) this whole pattern of rain and storm is rotating counter-clockwise, which you can see in last-hour animations on WeatherBug. The hurricane, also rotating counter-clockwise, is 2-3 hundred miles East, over the Atlantic ocean.

image.jpg
 
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