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Article snippet: South Carolina was hit by the force of Tropical Storm Irma Monday, as the former hurricane made its way past Florida. The massive storm brought whipping winds and relentless rain after moving its way up the East coast, according to reports, leading to Charleston to experience its third-highest-recorded storm surge with nearly 10 feet of water building up a mile inland. While the southern city did not encounter the fierce eye of the storm, it had not seen recession in tide levels as of 10 p.m. and could expect to see another couple inches of rain in the area, the National Weather Service said. Nearly 250,000 people across the Palmetto State had no power by Monday afternoon and over 160 roads were closed as a result of downed trees and flooding, CBS reports. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) urged South Carolinians to avoid driving as a result of the precarious road conditions. "There's no need to put yourself or your family or first responders at risk," he reportedly said. Irma made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Keys early Sunday, bringing dangerous storm surges to the Sunshine State after wreaking havoc across the Caribbean. The state ordered a record 6.3 million people to evacuate from coastal and southern areas, and opened more than 400 shelters. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2017 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communi... Link to the full article to read more