Heavy North Carolina rains causing ocean discoloration on Grand Strand

(WBTW) — If beachgoers have noticed strange colors in ocean waters over the last week, there's a scientific reason for it.

Heavy rainfall from a potential cyclone that brought up to 20 inches of rain into southeastern North Carolina has begun draining into the Atlantic, bringing dirt and debris that found its way here.

"Even from there, the Waccamaw (River) goes down into Conway, even into Georgetown, and it does connect to the Atlantic," News13 meteorologist Hannah Rahner said. "So even though all of the flood concerns were in North Carolina, we still have to get that nasty water down to our viewing area, and it does intercept our coast as well."

Here's how it works.

"Even though the Waccamaw starts in North Carolina, that's where we're seeing a lot of that rain kind of concentrate and it has to flow downstream through Horry County, through Longs, Conway, it even connects down to Georgetown and Winyah Bay, so all of that sediment is going down into South Carolina as well even though we saw significantly less rain," Rahner said.

The water can also pick up bacteria and pesticides as it makes its way to the ocean, so officials say people should be careful before going for a swim.

* * *

Carly Knowlton is a multimedia journalist at News13. She graduated from Penn State University in May 2024 and joined the News13 team in July 2024. Carly is from Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Follow Carly on Facebook , Instagram , and read more of her work here .