Myrtle Beach area dealing with tornado warnings and power ...

MYRTLE BEACH — Grand Strand residents woke up to tornado warnings and power outages Sept. 27 as the fringes of Hurricane Helene swept through Horry and Georgetown counties.

Tornado warnings were issued for Andrews, Pawleys Island and Plantersville in Georgetown County before 7:30 a.m. Parts of western Horry County, including Aynor and Galivants Ferry, also received tornado warnings. Later in the morning, a warning was issued for the Conway area.

The National Weather Service reported that tornadoes are possible into the early afternoon.

Horry County Emergency Management spokesman Thomas Bell said the county has received reports of downed trees and power outages, but no major or widespread damage.

“We’ve not been made aware of any flood issues with this storm system,” Bell said around 9 a.m. “The tornado threat is being monitored by the staff but nothing has been confirmed to have touched the ground anywhere within the county.”

More than 11,500 people were without power in Horry and Georgetown counties, according to local utilities. 

Despite the storm's worst impacts being hundreds of miles away, Helene's vast size means the NWS expects the Grand Strand to see gusty winds (30-40 mph), rough surf and minor coastal flooding.

Forecasters said the weather should start to improve by early afternoon.

As for the area's rivers, the NWS said Black Creek, the Cape Fear, Lumber and Pee Dee rivers have the highest chance to return to minor flood stage this week or early next week. The Waccamaw River at Conway could also reach minor flood stage from rainfall and flooding upstream.

Schools in Horry and Georgetown counties are closed Sept. 27 and students have shifted to eLearning for the day.

Horry-Georgetown Technical College also moved to virtual or remote learning on Sept. 27. HGTC students should not report to clinicals, internships or other in-person programs.

Some Grand Strand schools also moved football games, and the Beach ’n Chili Fest in Myrtle Beach canceled its Sept. 27 events and moved its Community Challenge cook-off to Sept. 28. The rest of the festival's weekend events are expected to continue as scheduled.

The Grand Strand's fall bike rally is also scheduled to begin tonight and continue through Oct. 6.

Check back for updates.