AC repair inSavannah, GA

When Hurricane Irma hit Savannah in 2017, Betsy Cain's house on the back side of Wilmington Island flooded. In videos from the day, water laps at the back of her house while her neighbor's dock bobs and floats away like a wooden marsh monster.

Being close to the tidal range, watching the coastline and the movement of the water, Cain said the house is an inspiration for her artwork. She's lived there for decades, and she said she understands it's a choice to stay put despite the house's precarious location. She said the county has offered to buy her out of the property, but she and her husband turned down the offer.

Storm live blog:Chatham, Bryan counties now under hurricane watch

See the radar:See spaghetti models, path and storm activity for Georgia

Coastal residents are plenty used to storms and flooding, and with Tropical Sorm Ian on the horizon many are battening down the hatches for the rising water level. Some of those residents, like Cain, have taken extra measures such as raising their houses to prepare for future storms.

"We've been there since 1993," Cain said, "and never had any flooding until Irma." She said they'd always had high tides and king tides — during one king tide, she said she and her husband kayaked in their yard — but her "beautifully sited" little house on the side of the marsh hadn't experienced major flooding until 2017.

Take a look:See damage done by Hurricane Ian in videos showing storm surges, Category 4 winds

When Hurricane Irma arrived, a combination of high tide waters and the storm inundated Cain's house. She said the community really supported her after the damage to her house, but for a year, she and her husband were out of their house while it was renovated for damages. In 2018, they began the process to apply for a FEMA grant to lift their house out of the water's way.

"We've been in the process of (lifting the house) since last March, it's been very slow going, but with this storm we don't anticipate water coming into our house unless there's a 16-foot storm surge," Cain joked. Right now, the house is lifted over 10 feet, but the lifting job hasn't been completely finished yet.

'It's called Lowcountry for a reason': Expert anticipates coastal flooding

Hurricane Ian has already caused severe damages as it passes through the Caribbean and Florida, but Enki Research's Chuck Watson, a Savannah-based hazards researcher and hurricane expert, said Savannah doesn't look like it will get the worst of the storm.

"The Lowcountry ... it's called that for a reason," Watson said. Much of Savannah is surrounded by tidal creeks and marshes, and it's hard for people to grasp how much water gets stored in those marshes at high tide. For the same reason Savannah had trouble with Irma and other winter storms over the years, Watson said Hurricane Ian has wind blowing out of the east onshore causing the water to stack up and store in the marshes. When the storm does come, the tide will already be seasonally high, causing larger flooding.

"If you look at the tide gauges, it just starts ramping up every tide cycle. More and more water gets pumped in but can't quite get pumped out," Watson said. Looking at the Fort Pulaski tide gauge, he said tomorrow's high tide around noon should be around 8 feet, but instead will have an extra two feet of water, putting the tide around 10 feet high.

Around 10 feet is when Highway 80 starts to flood, and the water creeps up on low-lying areas like Tybee and Wilmington Island.

Winds could reach sustained tropical storm force (39-73 mph) on the islands, but in Savannah it'll be gusty without sustained winds. With the rains starting Thursday night, Watson expects urban flooding that Savannah usually sees during a heavy rainstorm — "They call it Waters Avenue for a reason."

When the main winds from Hurricane Ian arrive Friday morning, Watson said there's a potential to get three or four feet above the normal high tide.

He estimates Friday's high tide around 11 feet and, in context, he said Hurricane Matthew brought a high tide of 12 feet. While there will be flooding in marsh-front properties and low lying areas, he said this storm is not shaping up to be as bad as past storms like Matthew and Irma.

As for Caine, in anticipation of Ian, she is still preparing for her yard to flood. Yet, there's some comfort in knowing the house won't be inundated now that it's been raised. She said she knows, and doesn't feel like, their house is invincible — they still have an old roof that needs work — but she said they feel "halfway secure."

Marisa Mecke is an environmental journalist. She can be reached at mmecke@gannett.com or by phone at (912) 328-4411.

The sounds of drums and woodwind instruments can be heard from outside of Savannah’s Hindu Temple.

Inside, celebrations for Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, are taking place. Diwali is the most widely celebrated holiday by Hindus and Indians across the world. On Diwali day, which fell on Oct. 26 this year, hundreds gathered at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Canebrake Road to commemorate the festival with food, song and rituals.

Specific traditions mark each of the five days of Diwali. The biggest celebration on Oct. 26 culminated in an abundant vegetarian food offering called annakut, the candle-lighting ceremony or aarti and a fireworks show later that evening.

The meaning of Diwali differs from region to region in India. For the Swaminarayan sect, the holiday marks the beginning of the new year on the Hindu calendar, the year 2079. It’s also a celebration of light over darkness, good over evil and the triumph of the God Rama over the evil God Ravana.

During the ceremony, the temple’s or Mandir’s caretaker, Hetalbhai Dave, lights five candles for Aarti, and waves the flames in front of the mountainous food offering. The act of lighting lamps or candles symbolizes the removal of darkness from within oneself – darkness, meaning anger, envy, greed, arrogance and resentment.

Over 200 vegetarian dishes were mounted on the altar, for annakut. The flavors at the bottom of the altar are largely savory, while towards the top, where the row of Hindu deities sit, the dishes become sweeter. Drashti Sharma, one of the devotees at the temple, said this symbolizes efforts to ring in a sweeter new year and a sweeter life.

In conjunction with Diwali celebrations, members of the Swaminarayan temple also memorialized one of the most important figures of their faith, the Hindu guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj or PSM. Gurus are considered the leaders of the Hindu sect, and PSM was the fifth spiritual successor of Swaminarayan. His 100th birthday was celebrated on Nov. 7 this year.

After aarti and annakut, the food is accepted by the gods and is considered sanctified. People place their offerings on silver plates and prepare to feast on the homemade dishes. Among them is Sharma’s favorite, the gulab jamun, a fried doughy snack dipped in sweet syrup.

Dave, the caretaker, rings in the new year with an auspicious message: “We will just pray for all of the people, all of the humankind. You will be happy, healthy and wealthy and have a prosperous new year.”

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is celebrating its 17th anniversary this Sunday: https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Savannah/Upcoming-Events.aspx

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Thursday and Friday are First Alert Weather Days:

Nicole made landfall as a Category One Hurricane at 3 AM just south of Vero Beach Florida. Nicole has already weakened back into a tropical storm and will progress across Florida today.

Today will be damp and breezy as Nicole begins to move closer to Georgia. Coastal areas could receive 2-4 inches of rain (flash flooding possible), wind gusts over 45 mph are possible at the coast as well as higher than normal tides, rough surf, beach erosion and an increased risk for rip currents. Showerswill progress inland throughout the day.

We’ll see pockets of heavy rain move onshore and in from the south throughout the day into the evening. There is also a risk for tornadoes during this time. Make sure your devices are charged and that you have multiple ways to receive weather alerts.

Thursday’s high tide at Fort Pulaski: 10.0′ I 8:55AM (Moderate Flood Stage)

Windy conditions will be with us all day as rain moves onshore. Spotty power outages are possible, make sure your devices are charged! pic.twitter.com/AVxqo9uQDR

— Andrew Gorton WTOC (@AndrewGortonWx) November 10, 2022

Power outages are also possible Thursday as the wind picks up. Highs will be held in the low to mid 70s Thursday and mid to upper 70s Friday thanks to the wind and rain. Rain will still be with us during the first half of Friday along with wind gusts of 30 to 35 miles per hour. Drier and calmer weather begins to move in during Friday afternoon and evening.

This system should exit the area early this weekend, with cooler air finally filtering back in. Highs will be in the mid to upper 70s on Saturday without any rain around. Cooler air moves in Sunday morning with lows in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Sunday afternoon temperatures will only make it to the low to mid 60s. Even cooler air will be around to start out the work week with morning lows in the lower 40s for inland areas.

- Meteorologist Andrew Gorton

Copyright 2022 WTOC. All rights reserved.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTGS) — On Thursday, the Savannah City Council continued their discussion on a potential impact fee that would charge new developers looking to build within the city.

The discussion of the impact fee has been ongoing for several months. City officials say that new buildings and developments are a cost they pay for, and the impact fee advisory committee was put together to look at ways developers would be charged for new projects to make up that cost.

RELATED: City of Savannah discusses impact fee that would charge developers for new constructions

“I think the devil, in this case, is the details," Mayor Van Johnson said. "Particularly in terms of what are you impacting and how those fees are passed along and who they are passed along to. Particularly when you are competing with other communities for development, sometimes that makes a difference in someone coming here and someone going somewhere else."

The impact fee would collect funds from new projects. Some council members voiced concerns, such as the impact fee affecting residents looking to build a home within city limits.

The fee would not only charge developers for new commercial buildings, but it would also charge those looking to build single-family homes. Alderwoman Estella Shabazz, who represents District 5 voiced her disapproval of the idea.

”Before you can move into your house, you have to plan for an additional $6,000 and 10,000 for an impact fee. I am not with that on this subject of an impact fee. Putting more burden on people or residents, citizens who are trying to build homes to live in,” she said.

There are some exemptions to the impact fee. City Council may grant exemptions for business development projects that would create economic development and employment growth and projects, such as affordable housing.

"As we move forward with it, it’s important to recognize that Georgia state law requires us, if we allow exemptions on these two items, to be able to pay that money back,” Bridget Lidy, Savannah's director of planning and urban design, said.

The money collected from impact fees would go towards projects within four designated categories. Those include law enforcement, road improvements, fire protection, and parks and recreation projects.

Ultimately, City Council will determine how much the impact fee would cost new developers and any potential exemptions.

City employees say the next steps in the impact fee discussion will be two public hearings and a third final public hearing where an ordinance for the fee could be adopted.

As of midday Thursday, Tropical Storm Nicole was moving across north Florida and heading for south Georgia, according to weather officials.

SAVANNAH, GA — Chatham County is among multiple counties under a tornado watch until 7 p.m. Thursday due to Tropical Storm Nicole, according to the National Weather Service.

Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Ware and Wayne counties are also under the tornado watch.

A tropical storm warning and a storm surge watch remain for Chatham, including the Savannah Airport, Hunter Army Airfield, Ossabaw Island, Tybee Island and Bloomingdale.

According to Chatham County officials Thursday, gusty winds can be anticipated through Friday. Tropical storm force gusts are possible.

According to the county, the possibility for isolated tornadoes is strongest Thursday evening. There is still a potential for 2 to 3 inches of rain, most affecting the coast, officials said. Coastal flooding remains a concern.

Officials said though Chatham is no longer in Nicole's cone of uncertainty, local impact is still probable with Nicole's wind field, consisting of rain bands, spanning more than 400 miles wide.

"With the increased chances of gusty winds and isolated tornadoes, certain locations could experience an increased chance of power outages throughout Chatham County," officials said.

Afternoon school activities were canceled Thursday due to Nicole, according to the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. The school system has not yet said if school will be canceled Friday.

Nicole made landfall in Florida early Thursday morning as a hurricane, according to The Weather Channel. The storm left in its path coastal flooding, beach erosion, strong winds, high surf, heavy rain and tornadoes — all forecast to continue in other parts of the southeast, the mid-Atlantic and northeast through Friday.

"Early Thursday morning, Nicole became just the fourth November hurricane to landfall in the mainland U.S. in records dating to the mid-19th century, and the first to do so in 37 years," according to the Weather Channel.

As of midday Thursday, weather officials tracked Nicole to north Florida. The Weather Channel reported bands of rain were rotating through north and central Florida and into south Georgia and South Carolina.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.