Savannah returning to normal after Ian
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Many stores and businesses have remained closed over the past day including some places downtown. But thankfully, the only real weather difference you can feel down at Plant Riverside is a strong wind.
If you , yesterday, staff with Plant Riverside spent most of the day sandbagging a lot of the storefronts but today, they’ve since removed those sandbags and water barriers. It’s been a little busier down here despite the business closures and many visitors today say they’re glad they haven’t seen any of the severe weather!
“Relived, we’re out here, not getting rained on, it’s made it a lot more fun. I was kind of hoping we’d have to bear a little bit more of the storms, just for story’s sake,” said Stephen Westbeld and Zach Padgett, who are visiting Savannah.
Many of the visitors say they plan to spend the rest of the weekend in town to ensure a safe drive back.
“We were very nervous at the beginning of the week, and up until yesterday, just nervous how the storm would go, and if things were going to be open. Just to know that the weekend is going as planned, tomorrow is going to be beautiful, it’s lovely now,” said Ernesta McBurrows, who is visiting from Kennesaw.
“We’ve been planning this trip for a long time. With COVID, we haven’t been able to go anywhere, so we were looking forward to this. We decided early on when Ian formed, that we’re fully committed, and we’re going. We’re so excited that this panned out,” said Stephanie Adams, who is visiting from Greenwood, Delaware.
One couple from Seattle earlier today, they’re on a two-week long road trip that started in Nashville. Now, they’re spending a little extra time in Savannah before heading north to Beaufort and Charleston.
“It’s dry, not raining, so we figured we’d spend the day here, and then go to Beaufort, but it’s raining there, so we’ll spend the day here and just enjoy it,” said Jeff and Rose Cleppe, who are visiting from Seattle, Washington.
“Of course for us it could’ve been much worse. It’s been nice in Savannah, things are closed, but that’s to be expected.”
The couple says their road trip ends in Charleston and they’ll fly home after that.
Back in Savannah, the local state of emergency will be lifted at 6 p.m. today meaning city offices will return to normal operations starting Monday.
Copyright 2022 WTOC. All rights reserved.
