Wedding & Event Venue Near Myrtle Beach, SC.

Updated 3:27 p.m.

Myrtle Beach’s seen an uptick in tornadoes recently, but one expert says the area isn’t becoming more prone to them.

While Myrtle Beach has seen two tornadoes in recent months, the Grand Strand has not seen a particular uptick in activity recently, National Weather Service Wilmington, N.C. meteorologist Steven Pfaff said.

Pfaff added that there are a couple of times a year when there is peak tornado activity, particularly between March and May as well as September.

Updated 3 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for North Myrtle Beach and Little River until 3:45 p.m.

Updated 2:23 p.m.

A tornado warning has been issued Tuesday for the areas of Myrtle Beach, Socastee, Conway and around Garden City until 2:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Updated 1:07 p.m.

More than 700 people are without power in the Conway area, according to the Horry Electric Cooperative.

The utility company reported that 767 people lost power a little after noon Tuesday because of wind.

Updated 1 p.m.

Some flooding might be expected in Horry County, but the threat isn’t serious due to the speed of the storm, officials say.

A storm is moving toward the Myrtle Beach area, and flooding could accompany it with heavy weather starting around Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service’s Wilmington, N.C. office.

While flooding might impact areas with poor drainage and beach erosion is a concern, the flooding threat is “on the low end” and isn’t a serious threat because of the storm, said Steven Pfaff, warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS’ Wilmington site.

Updated 11:44 a.m.

A tornado watch has been issued for Horry County until 6 p.m., according to the Horry County Emergency Management.

Wind gusts in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach are at 38 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Updated 10:22 a.m.

The City of Myrtle Beach shores have gone to a double red flag for the remainder of Tuesday, meaning that everyone should remain out of the ocean due to dangerous surf conditions, according to the Myrtle Beach Fire Department.

Updated 10:18 A.M.

Tuesday’s storm is predicted to bring heavy rain, flooding and high winds with gusts up to 55 mph to the Myrtle Beach area, according to the National Weather Service.

That could mean some in Horry County will postpone plans or cancel events in preparation for the severe weather. Check the list of cancellations and closings here.

If you have a cancellation or closing, email online@thesunnews.com.

Updated 10:10 A.M.

HTC announced via an email that their retail locations and their Customer Contact Center were closing at 12:30 p.m. today. Customers can pay their bills online.

“HTC is taking necessary measures to prepare for these conditions by testing and fueling standby generators, inspecting network offices and equipment locations to prevent flooding, preparing fleet vehicles for deployment and other tasks associated with ensuring the safety of network equipment,” wrote the company officials in an email. “HTC will be watching the storm as it moves into our service area and managing our emergency operations center to monitor the network for any alarms.”

A severe thunderstorm is expected to hit the Myrtle Beach area Tuesday, bringing damaging winds, potential flooding and the threat of tornadoes. The National Weather Service said the worst of the storm is expected to hit in the afternoon and evening.

Residents could see bouts of heavy rainfall and wind speeds of more than 55 mph. A total of 1 to 2 inches of rain is predicted, which will bring low levels of flash flooding and a chance of minor coastal flooding.

Many Myrtle Beach area resorts and restaurants live stream their views.

For most of the year, these webcams show tranquil beach scenes for visitors longing for the ocean. When a storm hits, the cameras can turn into tools for locals and tourists alike to witness the effects in real time.

After you identify local emergency contacts and see if your area is likely to flood, check out these 23 beach cams to watch the storm.

As an early winter storm approaches the Myrtle Beach area, there’s a potential for power outages in Horry County.

The National Weather Service’s Wilmington office’s Jan. 8 storm briefing reported that winds could reach 55 mph for land areas and more than 58 mph in marine/coastal areas. The NWS’s report also said tornadoes could develop, putting the threat of wind between “elevated” and “significant.”

The NWS lists increasing threats from none, limited, elevated, significant and extreme.

This story was originally published January 9, 2024, 9:26 AM.

Could Myrtle Beach get a white Christmas this year?

Christmas snow, to most Myrtle Beach area locals, is the stuff of holiday movies. In fact, many northerners, fondly nicknamed “snowbirds,” migrate to the Grand Strand every winter to escape the deep freeze of their home climes. But for those living in the area 33 years ago, 1989 was a Christmas they will never forget.

Horry locals struggled to recover from Hurricane Hugo that year when the entire area was plunged into a deep freeze in late December.

On Dec. 22, The Sun News reported frigid temperatures. Still, it said, “anyone hoping for a white Christmas will probably be disappointed,” citing a regional climatologist who expected warmer temperatures to prevail by the holiday.

Then, that very evening, the snow began to fall - and fall - and fall.

From the evening of Dec. 22 through Dec. 24, the entire area was covered with almost 15 inches of the white stuff. Loris recorded 14.5 inches of snow, Murrells Inlet had 11 inches and the sands of Myrtle Beach were covered in 14 inches of the winter precipitation that would last well through the holiday as temperatures plummeted into the low teens - even single digits inland.

According to the National Weather Service, it was the largest snowstorm in history for the South East coast.

It was a true winter wonderland for area locals. In rural fields, youths hitched homemade sleds, of trash-can lids and old car hoods, to 4-wheelers and slung their buddies across the frozen tundra.

Cars did playful donuts in mall parking lots.

On Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, The Sun News interviewed tourists who used the snow skis they’d brought for a planned trip to the mountains to ski down Ocean Boulevard.

The paper featured a picture of a 27-foot snow sculpture of an elf in Murrells Inlet.

But, according to those same articles, the arctic temperatures, snow, and ice created myriad problems for which The Grand Strand wasn’t prepared. The headlines from that week read: ‘Outages Bring Cold Home,’ ‘Snowstorm puts the breaks on shopping on Grand Strand,’ ‘Frozen water pipes put damper on holiday for some in Horry,’ and ‘Storm brings too much snow.’

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Myrtle Beach Fire Department recently secured its first high water vehicle, also known as a light medium tactical vehicle.

When hurricane season begins on June 1, the department plans to use the water vehicle for many different flooding situations if needed.

The department says it’ll be used for transporting resources and rescuing people.

“It’s another tool in the toolbox that we can use for these types of situations, again better to be overprepared then underprepared so it’s nice to have this as an addition to the fleet,” Capt. Jonathan Evans with Myrtle Beach Fire Department said.

With help from South Carolina Forestry, the department was able to get the water vehicle last summer through federal firefighter programs. The programs work with departments to repurpose former military equipment.

“Happy to have that resource so that we didn’t have to buy something brand new especially for something we don’t plan on using all the time, all day,” Evans said.

The vehicle has undergone maintenance and painting in the past few months. Now, it’s ready to respond to rescue and evacuation situations during flooding events.

Evans said these vehicles are common among departments in coastal areas. Some like North Myrtle Beach and Garden City-Murrells Inlet who see much more flooding than Myrtle Beach.

“Last year we had a storm where we had a hotel that had some pretty good flooding where we had a few people, fortunate we were able to save with the ladder truck but maybe this is a resource we could’ve used in that case,” Evans said.

The inside of the vehicle seats two and has benches in the back. It can also carry resources or tow another vehicle.

Some last details to be done are installing lights, radios, and holding specialized training for first responders on how to use the vehicle.

“It’s not the type of vehicle just like our engines, it’s a little different type of driving so knowing what to do, how to operate the vehicle just like any of our other ones you have to get signed up on the engine, the rescue, the ladder truck, so this is no different,” Evans said.

The department said once South Carolina Forestry does a final inspection on the vehicle, it will be fully transferred over to Myrtle Beach Fire Department.

* * *

Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and X, formerly Twitter. You can also read more of her work, here.

Bikers won’t start rolling in to the Myrtle Beach area for the 2023 Atlantic Beach Bike Week for a few months, but now is the perfect time to plan your visit.

While some locals dread the increased traffic and large crowds, thousands of visitors flock to Atlantic Beach during Memorial Day weekend to show off their motorcycles and enjoy the South Carolina coast.

Here are the answers to five frequently asked questions about this year’s Bike Fest.

The Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival will take place Memorial Day weekend: May 26 through 29. The event, also known as Black Bike Week or Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, has been held since 1980.

“Bikers and non-bikers are welcome,” said Atlantic Beach town manager, Benjamin Quattlebaum. He encouraged visitors in 2023 to “come out and patronize the event, they’ll find it very enjoyable.”

Quattlebaum also hopes to see more bikers from outside of the area, thanks to an increased marketing budget from a Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and Horry County grant.

Quattlebaum was encouraged by the increase in interest from retail and food vendors this year. He hopes to entice motorcycle companies to sell their items at the festival.

Live music schedules and vendor plans will be released in the coming weeks. Keep in the loop by checking the Town of Atlantic Beach website.

Stay up to date on Atlantic Beach Bike Week plans by following the Black Bike Week Facebook page and checking out the resources on the Black Bike Week website.

Horry County hosts three large motorcycle events each year. The Myrtle Beach Spring Rally will take place May 12 to 21. The 2023 Fall Rally will take place from Oct. 2 to 8.

Barefoot Landing’s newest restaurant looks like a trading post mariners would have stopped at on their journey along the Intracoastal Waterway during centuries past.

The theme of the stately two-story building with a small greenhouse in front is meant to evoke the styling of the Caribbean islands. It offers sunset celebrations where patrons hear people blowing into a conch shell and receive specialty sunglasses.

The atmosphere is all part of making visitor’s dining experience relaxing and chill.

The Big Chill Island House, located at 4736 Highway 17 S, opens in North Myrtle Beach at Barefoot Landing May 1, 2024. La Vida Hospitality Managing Partner for Marketing and Development Josh Grapski said the restaurant is supposed to simultaneously evoke the spirit of the Grand Strand and the Caribbean.

“It’s really about kind of that sense of adventure and being able to tell a story from a different world,” he said.

Grapski said it’s the third Big Chill restaurant — the other two are in Delaware. Work began on the Big Chill Island House in 2022, and the restaurant cost $6 million to complete, he added.

The company also owns the Crooked Hammock Brewery at Barefoot Landing.

Once you step inside the Big Chill Island House, you immediately notice the interior design. It is maximalist, with different nuances and details throughout the eatery. A mural of birds is on the wall, and the walls have unique wood designs. Tables on one of the second-floor patios are made from tree roots.

Rebecca Fluharty helped design the restaurant and said she wanted a more eclectic aesthetic, with the restaurant featuring “hundreds” of individual pieces.

“Things are tending to gear more towards the eclectic sort of like layered on (look) and less simplicity,” Fluharty said. “Every time you look around, you can see something different.”

This approach applies to nearly every inch of the restaurant. The foyer, which serves double duty as the gift shop, resembles a general store where mariners would stock up on supplies before continuing their travels up and down the Intracoastal Waterway.

On the second floor, live plants and flowers are installed onto the walls, and an irrigation system keeps the flora fresh.

In the entrance and gift shop, a chandelier, one of many different styles in the restaurant, is made out of a ship’s steering wheel, blue beads, dock rope, gold chains and driftwood. Where the phrase “less is more” is widespread, Big Chill House’s aesthetic is firmly planted in the “more is more” category.

Big Chill also has three bars, and patrons will see something different depending on which section they dine. Each setting has a different vibe. The restaurant has a capacity of 370 people.

The main dining area looks like a beachside restaurant; Grapski added that the restaurant is adding live plants to the dining area.

Patrons can sit outside underneath a large oak tree and comfortably listen to live music or watch the boats go by on the Intracoastal Waterway. Couples on a romantic date can visit the Carolina Lounge at the back of the first floor, which offers a more upscale date-night experience.

Patrons exhausted from a day of boating can go to the dockside bar and enjoy a drink next to the boat slips, and Grapski said that more docks will be added. The upstairs bar is more for nightlife and fun with friends, as the doors allow summer air to flow in. Conversely, a secluded dining room is also upstairs for a more intimate dining experience.

“Everything is oriented towards the sunset,” Grapski said. “This is designed for viewing the Intracoastal boats going by.”

With two kitchens, one on each floor, Big Chill Island House intends to serve a menu that blends world flavors.

Island-inspired, the menu — with 12 entrees, sandwiches, and poke bowls— is seafood-heavy with items like lobster bisque, two ceviches, popcorn shrimp, and fried oysters. Grapski said the restaurant also has a flat iron steak, surf and turf po-boy, chicken sandwich, Kalua Pork, peri-peri chicken and other typical menu items for a more “approachable” offering.

One specialty that the Big Chill Island House will feature is a tequila and rum tasting program, restaurant General Manager William Morris said.

The eatery offers 20 tequilas in 1-ounce pours. Morris said he wanted to apply the bourbon-tasting trend to rums and tequilas, which matches Big Chill Island House’s vibe.

“Definitely didn’t overload too many people, but definitely wanted them to sit outside and enjoy what Myrtle Beach is about,” Morris added.

The restaurant has many different cocktails and beverages, referred to as libations at the eatery, from which to choose.

“We tried to blend things that are classic drinks, kind of new drinks,” Grapski added. “I wouldn’t say we’re mixology focus, but as a bar team, we’re focused on providing a great kind of classic cocktail.”

People can call to schedule private parties or events, and it is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to midnight on weekends.

This story was originally published April 17, 2024, 6:00 AM.

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