Below, you will discover our COMPLETE listing of South Carolina cruising news/postings from fellow cruisers, arranged in chronological order, based on publication date. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO NARROW YOUR SELECTION of SC cruising news to those messages which pertain to a specific geographic sub-region, locate the RED, vertically stacked menu, on the right side of this, and all Cruisers’ Net pages. Click on “South Carolina.” A drop down menu will appear, with a blue background, Now, click on “SC Regional Cruising News.” A sub-drop-down menu will now appear, listing 11 South Carolina geographic sub-regions. Select your waters of interest, and after clicking on your choice, a list of messages will appear, confined to the sub-region you have picked!
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The latest briefing for the tropical Atlantic is attached, updated for Hurricane Isaias.
Mariners need to continue monitoring the latest forecasts and remain in an avoidance posture, or urgently execute avoidance plans now! Mariners can expect seas to 35 feet, possibly slightly above that, along the hurricane’s track.
On the forecast track, Isaias is expected to approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast this afternoon and make landfall within the warning area this evening.
As Isaias moves farther inland, seas are expected to diminish below 12 feet Saturday.
For the latest tropical cyclone information visit: www.hurricanes.gov For the latest marine information visit: www.hurricanes.gov/marine
This email was sent to curtis.hoff@CruisersNet.net using Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Coast Guard · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Washington, DC 20528 · 800-439-1420
*** THIS DIV IS AUTOMATICALLY HIDDEN WHEN DISPLAYED – INFO FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES *** ***MANUALLY DO: FIX TITLE, EXPIRE DATE, CATEGORIES, ENABLE SOCIAL POST *** 0: llnr: 0 District: 07 lat/lon: 38.517803333333,-79.06959 Desc: Situational Update – NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing 12:45
Thanks for sharing this CoastalReview piece. The title sums up something that applies to fishing along the coast more than any gear choice: the water usually tells you what is happening if you watch it. Diving terns and pelicans, nervous bait on the surface, or a slick on an otherwise rippled area are all signs that fish are pushing bait, and noticing them a few minutes earlier than everyone else often makes the difference between a good day and an empty cooler.
For cruisers who fish from the boat while traveling the ICW, tide and current are probably the most useful things to keep an eye on. Moving water around creek mouths, inlet edges and oyster bars tends to concentrate bait, and the last couple of hours of a falling tide can be especially productive. Keeping a simple log of tide stage, water temperature and where fish were found makes those patterns much easier to repeat on the next trip through.
One thing worth adding is that paying attention also means watching the weather, especially with a storm forming in the Gulf right now. Fall fishing can be excellent ahead of a front, but conditions change quickly in open sounds and near inlets. It is worth checking forecasts and having a clear plan for when to head back before the wind builds.
Good morning. It’s been a minute since I had to do one of these on a day other than Friday! The situation I mentioned this past Friday is evolving faster than I expected. A low-pressure area is forming southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, with thunderstorms clustered around it. It looks like a tropical depression or storm is forming.
The above loop of visible satellite imagery shows an area of low pressure forming over the southwestern Gulf that likely becomes a tropical depression or storm soon.
Image Source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth
The National Hurricane Center gives it a 90% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next two days. It’s safe to say they’re planning to deal with a storm soon. The next name on this year’s list is Isaias.
Will we in South Carolina have a storm to deal with? The confidence level is lower, but probably not. Our computer models suggest this developing storm will drift eastward at first, then turn north and hit the central Gulf Coast. An eastward turn looks likely well after landfall, but probably after passing by to our west.
This plot from PolarWx.com shows the density of tropical cyclone tracks from four computer model ensembles run by NOAA, the ECMWF, Environment Canada, and the United Kingdom Met Office. The plot shows a strong model consensus on the developing storm tracking toward the central Gulf Coast.
However, a stationary front, the one that brought heavy rain to parts of the state this past weekend, sits between us and the developing storm. It will retreat northward in front of the storm and pass through South Carolina over the weekend. A surge of tropical moisture will come with it, so that the front could bring some or all of the state heavy rain and even isolated flooding. Saturday night into Sunday looks to be the time of greatest concern.
The Weather Prediction Center’s Day 5 Excessive Rainfall Outlook graphic for South Carolina shows the flooding risk Saturday and Saturday night.
If the storm takes a substantially more eastward track (odds look low for this, but not zero), we could see a windy period Sunday, with an even greater risk of heavy rainfall, along with a risk of isolated tornadoes and coastal flooding around high tide.
Of course, since the storm hasn’t formed yet, there is a lot of uncertainty. We’ll have to monitor the station closely. Be sure your storm preps are in place and visit hurricane.sc if you need prep advice.
Frank Strait Severe Weather Liaison S.C. State Climate Office
1. WINYAH BAY LIGHTED BUOY 23 (LLNR 2065) IS MISSING AND HAS TRLB ON SCENE. ALL MARINERS ARE REQUESTED TO TRANSIT THE AREA WITH CAUTION. CANCEL AT//212035Z OCT 26//
BT
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The latest briefing for the tropical Atlantic is attached, updated for Tropical Storm Isaias. Isaias is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday. Mariners should execute avoidance plans now while closely monitoring the latest forecasts!
For the latest tropical cyclone information visit: www.hurricanes.gov For the latest marine information visit: www.hurricanes.gov/marine
This email was sent to curtis.hoff@CruisersNet.net using Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Coast Guard · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Washington, DC 20528 · 800-439-1420
*** THIS DIV IS AUTOMATICALLY HIDDEN WHEN DISPLAYED – INFO FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES *** ***MANUALLY DO: FIX TITLE, EXPIRE DATE, CATEGORIES, ENABLE SOCIAL POST *** 0: llnr: 0 District: 07 lat/lon: 38.517803333333,-79.06959 Desc: Situational Update – NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing 13:30
SAFETY/GA – SAVANNAH RIVER – NORTH JETTY/ATON/SEC CHS BNM 0224-26
1. SAVANNAH RIVER NORTH JETTY LIGHT (LLNR 4720) HAS BEEN REPORTED EXTINGUISHED. 2. ALL MARINERS PROCEED WITH CAUTION. CANCEL AT//211305Z OCT 26//
BT
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*** THIS DIV IS AUTOMATICALLY HIDDEN WHEN DISPLAYED – INFO FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES *** ***MANUALLY DO: FIX TITLE, EXPIRE DATE, CATEGORIES, ENABLE SOCIAL POST *** 0: llnr: 4720 District: 07 lat/lon: 32.041388,-80.849185 Desc: Savannah River North Jetty Light
SAFETY/GA – SAVANNAH RIVER AND WASSAW SOUND – BLOODY POINT RANGE/ATON/SEC CHS BNM 0223-26
1. BLOODY POINT FRONT RANGE LIGHT (LLNR 4585) HAS BEEN REPORTED EXTINGUISHED. ALL MARINERS ARE REQUSTED TO TRANSIT THE AREA WITH CAUTION. CANCEL AT//211248Z OCT 26//
BT
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*** THIS DIV IS AUTOMATICALLY HIDDEN WHEN DISPLAYED – INFO FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES *** ***MANUALLY DO: FIX TITLE, EXPIRE DATE, CATEGORIES, ENABLE SOCIAL POST *** 0: llnr: 4585 District: 07 lat/lon: 32.042542,-80.828226 Desc: Bloody Point Range Front Light
SAFETY/GA – SAVANNAH RIVER AND WASSAW SOUND – JONES ISLAND RANGE/ATON/SEC CHS BNM 0222-26
1. JONES ISLAND FRONT RANGE LIGHT (LLNR 4625) HAS BEEN REPORTED EXTINGUISHED. ALL MARINERS ARE REQUESTED TO TRANSIT THE AREA WITH CAUTION. CANCEL AT//211237Z OCT 26//
BT
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*** THIS DIV IS AUTOMATICALLY HIDDEN WHEN DISPLAYED – INFO FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES *** ***MANUALLY DO: FIX TITLE, EXPIRE DATE, CATEGORIES, ENABLE SOCIAL POST *** 0: llnr: 4625 District: 07 lat/lon: 32.042189,-80.852986 Desc: Jones Island Range Front Light
NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing – October 6, 2026
[You don’t often get email from darin.figurskey@noaa.gov. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification ]
The latest briefing for the tropical Atlantic is attached, updated for the latest National Hurricane Center seven-day graphical tropical weather outlook. Mariners should monitor the latest forecasts and be prepared for avoidance as necessary.
For the latest tropical cyclone information visit: www.hurricanes.gov For the latest marine information visit: www.hurricanes.gov/marine
This email was sent to curtis.hoff@CruisersNet.net using Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Coast Guard · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Washington, DC 20528 · 800-439-1420
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NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing – October 4, 2026
Good afternoon Mariners, The Sunday edition of the Tropical Marine Weather Briefing is now available at: https://youtu.be/HZtndn7SSck
Key messages:
• A front will move into the northern Gulf and the waters between Bermuda and northeast Florida early this week, then stall • Fresh to strong winds and building seas will follow the front through midweek • Atlantic 7-day Tropical Weather Outlook: Southwestern Gulf of America: An area of low pressure is likely to form around the middle of the week over the southwestern Gulf of America. Although environmental conditions are only expected to be marginally conducive, some slow development is possible and a tropical depression could form late this week while the system drifts northward. • * Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent • * Formation chance through 7 days…medium…40 percent.
For the latest tropical cyclone information visit: www.hurricanes.gov For the latest marine information visit: www.hurricanes.gov/marine
Note: This is the last regularly scheduled Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing. Future briefings will be issued as conditions warrant mainly for wind hazards and other significant events. If you have any questions, contact Darin Figurskey at darin.figurskey@noaa.gov
Have a safe week! — Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch National Hurricane Center National Weather Service Miami, Florida, USA
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*** THIS DIV IS AUTOMATICALLY HIDDEN WHEN DISPLAYED – INFO FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES *** ***MANUALLY DO: FIX TITLE, EXPIRE DATE, CATEGORIES, ENABLE SOCIAL POST *** 0: llnr: 0 District: 07 lat/lon: 38.517803333333,-79.06959 Desc: NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing – October 4, 2026 17:45
No Imminent Threats, We’ll Watch the Gulf Next Week
Weather Alert – October 2, 2026
No Imminent Threats, We’ll Watch the Gulf Next Week
The Atlantic has returned to inactivity. We have no active tropical cyclones, and it’s unlikely that any will form over the next week. We’ll watch the Gulf for possible development starting later next week.
The above loop of visible satellite imagery above shows features of interest across the North Atlantic and eastern U. S.:
The remnants of Fay well to the southeast of Bermuda.
Tropical waves along 74° west over the Caribbean Sea and along 38° west over the central tropical Atlantic.
A band of clouds stretching from Texas to New England along a cold front.
Disturbed weather over the eastern and central Gulf that will be drawn northward by the approaching cold front.
Image Source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth
The only current feature of interest is the remains of Tropical Storm Fay, about 500 miles southeast of Bermuda, valiantly holding on in its fight to remain dead. The National Hurricane Center gives it a 10 percent chance of resurrection. However, it will remain too far from South Carolina to affect us.
Two tropical waves are passing through the deep tropics, one south of Haiti and the other around 1500 miles east of the Windward Islands. Neither is generating much thunderstorm activity. Dry air and strong vertical wind shear will prevent the waves from developing further as they drift westward.
We’ll continue to watch cold fronts over the next week as they push through the Southeast and become stationary over the Gulf and southwestern Atlantic. Stationary fronts can become tropical cyclone breeding grounds over warm waters, and computer models indicate a low-end risk of a storm developing over the Bay of Campeche or western Gulf later next week or next weekend.
This hurricane season has been the quietest in many years (2014 was the last season with only 8 named storms) and the first in over a century with no hurricanes to date (1914 had no hurricanes; we might go without a hurricane this season). Nevertheless, we have to stay prepped. You know, it only takes one. So stay ready and visit hurricane.sc if you need prep advice.
SC Weather Highlights For the Next Week:
Our current hot spell (and perhaps the last of the year, we can only hope) will end after today, as a cold front moves in this weekend.
It’s great that we’ll cool off and, even better, we’ll see a soaking rain and thunderstorms over the weekend as a tropical air mass now over the Gulf gets pulled in by the front. Well, that’s not so great for outdoor plans you might have and for Saturday football (lightning delays are possible), but it will help with our drought.
The downside is that the heavy rain we’ll see this weekend could cause isolated flash flooding. The Weather Prediction Center’s outlooks have the entire state at level 1 of 4 for flooding rain on Saturday, then level 2 on Sunday into Sunday night. The rain will linger into Monday along the coast and perhaps farther inland; there’s some uncertainty about how long it takes for the front to sag south far enough that even the Lowcountry dries out. In fact, the front may become stationary near our coastal areas, keeping clouds and maybe even a shower or two around into Tuesday and Wednesday, especially in the coastal Lowcountry. Most areas are likely to get 1-2 inches of rain in the coming days, with some areas seeing 3-4 inches locally.
WPC’s Day 3 Excessive Rainfall Outlook graphic for South Carolina shows the entire state in a level 2 of 4 risk area for flooding rain Sunday and Sunday night.
We’re likely to remain dry elsewhere early next week, and across the state later next week, with the next chance of rain next weekend.
We’ll go from today’s summery warmth to early November-like temperatures behind the front. Saturday will be warm again with highs in the 80s, then near 70 in the Upstate to the low 80s in the Lowcountry on Sunday. It will be even cooler early next week; highs will be in the mid-to-upper 70s on Monday, then in the upper 60s and low 70s on Tuesday and Wednesday. Late next week looks a little warmer, but with highs still mainly in the 70s. Expect chilly mornings next week, with lows mainly in the 40s and 50s.
Frank Strait Severe Weather Liaison S.C. State Climate Office
NWS Tropical Atlantic Marine Weather Briefing – October 1, 2026
Good Afternoon Mariners,
The latest Marine Weather Briefing can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZPW3owySe4
Key Messages for this briefing: – Fresh easterly winds will pulse to strong speeds offshore Colombia and Venezuela each evening this weekend into early next week – Cold front emerging off SE US coast will lead to increasing winds and seas behind the front early next week – No other notable marine hazards are expected through early next week
Have a safe weekend! — Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch National Hurricane Center National Weather Service Miami, Florida, USA
This email was sent to curtis.hoff@CruisersNet.net using Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Coast Guard · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Washington, DC 20528 · 800-439-1420
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1. Mount Pleasant Range front light (LLNR 2455) is extinguished. All mariners are requested to transit the area with caution. CANCEL AT//141232Z OCT 26//
BT
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CHARLESTON HARBOR LIGHTED BUOY 11 (LLNR 2395.5) HAS BEEN REPORTED DAMAGED. ALL MARINERS ARE REQUESTED TO TRANSIT THE AREA WITH CAUTION. CANCEL AT//111506Z OCT 26//
BT
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Situational Update – Hazardous Weather Outlook for the Western Atlantic
The latest briefing for the western Atlantic is attached, updated for the long-duration east coast low. This is the final briefing update on this event. If there are any questions email ncep.opc.idss@noaa.gov
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South Carolina Shellfish Harvest Season Opens October 1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The 2026-2027 season for recreational harvest of shellfish (clams and oysters) in South Carolina’s coastal waters will open one-half hour before official sunrise on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The recreational shellfish season will remain open through May 15, 2027, unless conditions warrant extending or shortening the season.
In the event of a hurricane, major rain event or pollution spill, shellfish beds may be temporarily closed by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES, formerly SCDHEC). Harvesters should check with SCDES to verify whether any closures are in effect. Closure information is available by calling 1-800-285-1618 or through an interactive map on the SCDES website. SCDES will also use these resources and local newspapers throughout the year to announce temporary closures resulting from unusual rain events or spills.
Recreational harvesting is permitted on all Public Shellfish Grounds and State Shellfish Grounds within areas of open or approved water quality, as noted on shellfish maps. Twenty Public and seven State Shellfish Grounds are managed exclusively for recreational gathering. An additional 58 State Shellfish Grounds are managed for both recreational and commercial harvest.
Recreational harvesters should obtain updated Public or State Shellfish Ground maps at the beginning of each season, as areas open to harvest may change from year to year. Maps of designated harvest areas may be downloaded from the SCDNR website or accessed through the Recreational Map Web Application. Printed maps may also be obtained by calling (843) 953-9854 or writing to the Shellfish Management Section, Attn: Andy Hollis, SCDNR, PO Box 12559, Charleston, SC 29422-2559. When requesting maps, please specify the general area where you wish to harvest. Maps for the 2026-27 season will be available prior to the season opening on October 1, 2026.
Recreational harvesters must have a Saltwater Recreational Fishing License, available from SCDNR, at many fishing supply stores and online. The recreational limit is two U.S. bushels of oysters and one-half bushel of clams per day, limited to two calendar days per seven-day period. One U.S. bushel is equal to eight gallons. There is a maximum possession limit of three personal limits per boat or vehicle. Clams must be at least one inch thick.
Additional rules and restrictions may be found in the SCDNR Rules and Regulations, available where licenses are purchased or online.
Commercial Shellfish Harvest
Commercial harvest of shellfish requires a commercial saltwater license, mandatory harvester training, and other licenses and permits depending on where the harvest will occur. Call the Marine Permitting Office at 843-953-9301 (Option 4) for additional information on commercial harvesting requirements.
Shellfish Season Best Practices
All harvesters are encouraged to “cull in place” by breaking off and leaving dead shell and smaller oysters on the shoreline, where they will continue to grow and provide habitat for other oysters. Only harvest clusters or singles of larger oysters.
If you enjoy eating oysters, remember to recycle your shells! Check online or call (843) 953-9397 to find locations near you where shell can be dropped off for recycling.
Please note that recycled shell placed in any SCDNR receptacle becomes South Carolina state property and is illegal to take. All shell collected by SCDNR is used to restore shellfish grounds in coastal South Carolina.
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