It’s rare for the South Carolina Lowcountry to have to prepare for winter weather.  The latest front to hit the East will come from behind and sweep through the coast.   Lowcountry and Midlands schools are adding hourly to the list of closings or early dismissals.

See National Weather Service information for South Carolina.

State-owned utility Santee Cooper says they are ready. Spokesperson Mollie Gore says their first priority is to maintain power for customers.

“We’ve got people who are tracking the storm, trying to figure out which way it is going and what we will actually be looking at later today. We do have 16 of our distribution crew stocked up and ready to go. They are on stand-by, the vehicles are ready, the equipment is all on board. So, they will be ready to deploy depending on what the weather brings us. We’ve got people who will be manning the call center for customers throughout the night as needed,” says Gore.

The SC Department of Public Safety says they are closely monitoring roads and caution that if someone is stranded, please dial *HP (*47) on cell phones. Road conditions can be checked online or if power is out, call 1-800-768-15o1.

Trooper Judd Jones in the Midlands region reminds drivers to stay put if possible. In any trip, he says take along a blanket and a fully-charged cell phone in the car in case of a breakdown.

The SC Emergency Management Division has posted information and tips on their website.