Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, is officially here, and forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) outlook for the 2025 hurricane season predicts a 30% chance of a near-normal season, a 60% chance of an above-normal season, and a 10% chance of a below-normal season. Expect 13 to 19 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), 6–10 hurricanes (winds of 74 mph-110 mph), and 3–5 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA has a 70% confidence in these ranges.
As the guardians of the state’s largest utility network—more than 75,000 miles of electric distribution lines serving 1.5 million people across all 46 counties—South Carolina’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives have emergency plans in place to deal with violent weather should a hurricane threaten the Palmetto State. Along with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD), co-ops urge all state residents to have their own plans in place to protect friends, family, pets and property.
Storm Center
Be sure you’re prepared and to learn about all about York Electric’s plans and preparations, safety tips, and guides to supplies and emergency kits: to follow along with outages during and after a storm, please visit and bookmark these York Electric web pages:
Outages
York Electric encourages all our members to report outages any time of day, and we’ve provided many ways to do just that. Also, we maintain a live outage map so you can see what’s out, what’s been restored, and what may still be pending in real time.
Hurricane Readiness
Hurricanes often come with a set of potential problems unlike other storms, and we want you to be specifically prepared for these severe weather conditions long before anything from a tropical depression to a major hurricane even arrives.
Here are more useful resources:
SC Emergency Manager mobile app
Available for free in the Apple App Store and on Google Play, this handy app links users to every SCEMD resource they need before, during and after a storm, including evacuation and shelter maps and planning checklists. It even has a useful “tools” function that turns your smartphone into an emergency flashlight, signaling device and a GPS locator.
SCEMD.org
No smartphone? No problem. All of the app’s planning resources, maps and links to the latest emergency information are available on SCEMD.org. In the case of a hurricane (or any natural disaster), SCEMD will update the site to provide the best real-time information users need.
South Carolina Hurricane Guide
From both the website and the app, you can view SCEMD’s South Carolina Hurricane Guide filled with tips and resources. To access the guide online, visit https://hurricane.sc/.
South Carolina Living Storm Center
South Carolina Living’s storm center pages are filled with information to help co-op members prepare for and survive natural disasters. Readers will find useful how-to guides on building a storm kit, evacuating with pets, staying safe when power lines are down, and how to report power outages. There’s even a live, statewide outage map to track the storm damage and the status of repairs in co-op-served territories. See all the resources at SCLiving.coop/storm-center.
Source: South Carolina Living Magazine
Updated: July 5, 2025

