By admin 
Hurricane Isaias is the latest major storm that has formed and brought heavy rain, damaging winds and life-threatening storm surges to the northern Gulf Coast as it made landfall late last night.
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Several southern states, including Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, are in the Category 3 hurricane’s direct path. Some residents in these states have received evacuation orders, and thousands of National Guard members have been deployed.
South Carolina is not in Hurricane Isaias’ path of destruction, but our weather can still be significantly impacted by the storm later Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
There are several ways to track the severity of the storm and the areas that will see the biggest impacts. The most unusual method is known as the Waffle House Index.
Here’s what it is and how South Carolinians can use it to see if they’re in a dangerous area.
What’s the Waffle House Index?
The Waffle House Index is an informal metric used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess the severity of a storm or disaster.
The tracker checks Waffle House locations’ operational status across the country. If an area has several Waffle House locations closed at the same time, that usually means trouble.
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The Southern breakfast chain is notorious for staying open, even in the harshest of weather, so it’s a bad sign if restaurants are forced to close down. A Waffle House’s operational status is a surprisingly reliable indicator of local conditions.
This tracker uses real-time weather alerts from the National Weather Service to estimate which Waffle House locations may be at risk. Locations within active warning areas are flagged as threatened; those under watches or advisories are marked as at risk; and all others are shown as open.
Just because a Waffle House is shown as threatened doesn’t mean it’s actually closed, however. To confirm a spot’s operational status, you need to contact the location.
How many Waffle Houses are currently threatened?
As of Friday afternoon, there were more than 900 Waffle House locations that are labeled as threatened. Most are located in Hurricane Isaias’ expected path.
In the Palmetto State, dozens of Waffle House restaurants are also threatened or at risk. Nearly all at-risk locations are close to the Georgia border, and almost every threatened spot is by the coast.
To see if the Waffle Houses near you are in danger, go to wafflehousetracker.com. Once you’re on the website, you can search your city and see the nearby locations’ operating status.
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