Downtown Myrtle Beach area sees high winds and heavy rain on morning of Hurricane Ian

Scattered debris, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind could be seen and felt throughout the downtown Myrtle Beach boardwalk area Friday morning, as Hurricane Ian drew closer to South Carolina coasts as a category 1 storm.

The area is currently under a storm surge warning, with impacts from Hurricane Ian increasing during the afternoon, according to the latest weather briefing from the National Weather Service.

City facilities, dine-in restaurants and attractions were closed on Friday due to the severe weather conditions. However, many stores are staying open through the severe weather.

Gas stations, liquor stores and beach wear shops along South Ocean Boulevard were still open. Mammy’s Kitchen and a Waffle House on South Ocean Boulevard were packed with residents taking shelter from the weather.

A few residents could also be seen at the beaches, watching the strong winds and waves in awe.

Spencer Williams, a Myrtle Beach resident who recently moved down, took pictures of the ocean early Friday.

“I’ve never seen a hurricane before,” Williams said. “I was just wondering what it would look like. I wanted to get some cool pictures too.”

Some were at the boardwalk area for different reasons.

Joe Goodwin, an Horry County volleyball coach, had to untie nine nets from the Myrtle Beach boardwalk area before conditions got worse.

The Myrtle Beach Open volleyball tournament was scheduled to start on Saturday, but due to the weather updates overnight, is canceled for now. Goodwin came to the boardwalk early Friday morning to bring the nets down.

“It really looked like it wasn’t going to be a big deal,” Goodwin said.