This story is free to all as a public service of The Greenville News. You can help support our hurricane coverage and other outstanding local journalism with your digital subscription. Click here for our latest offer.

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE:Hurricane Dorian: In South Carolina, a sigh of relief after days of bated breath

CHARLESTON – Charleston awoke to a hurricane Thursday that offered little reprieve throughout the morning and into early afternoon, with winds at a few locations topping hurricane-strength and even lesser speeds leveling trees, ripping off store awnings and knocking out power to tens of thousands.

Downpours created ponds out of well-known city streets, but some fears of catastrophic flooding with Hurricane Dorian taking its full swing at the Holy City proved to not be so crippling.

This is the fourth hurricane in as many years that Charleston has had to face, and while it didn't make landfall here, its wide reach wrought havoc from its center as close as about 45 miles off the coast, leaving 250,000 without power.

The powerhouse storm shifted back and forth into Category 3 status, with up to 115 mph sustained winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A wind gust reached 78 mph at a weather station at Shutes Folly Island in Charleston Harbor before noon, and an unofficial weather station on James Island west of the harbor recorded a wind gust of 74 mph, the NHC reported.

Tornadoes were reported in Myrtle Beach Thursday morning as the death toll from the storm in the Bahamas climbed to 20.

Market Street in downtown Charleston was about a foot underwater in some spots just after dawn, but work to drain the popular tourist area managed to keep the flooding in check.

Wind gusts blew rain sideways and downed a large oak at Marion Square and bent a traffic signal that somehow managed to still operate.

Other intersections weren't so lucky, as signals were dark intermittently, just like the power outages on the peninsula that have put backup generators into action.

As a city accustomed to storms — Matthew in 2016, then Irma, then Florence, now Dorian — locals were out walking dogs, witnessing the sea spray at The Battery and, in the case of John Rivers, helping the cleanup effort before the storm even ended.

At the corner of Calhoun and Washington streets near the state aquarium, Rivers was out with his two daughters, Martha and Caroline, and son, Minott, raking limb debris from covering storm drains.

"The city is doing the best job they can, but they can't be everywhere at every drain, so we're helping them out," Rivers said as the winds and rain carried debris down the street.

Within minutes, a pool of stormwater that stretched across Washington Street was drained away.

"It's a teachable moment for them, and they're also very civic-minded" said Rivers. "My family has been here since 1670, so it's time for us to pitch in."

On The Battery, Doug Jackson walked in sweatpants and sweatshirt, not trying to be a storm-chaser, only to see a little of what Dorian is all about. He lives about 10 minutes outside Charleston in Ladson.

"I'm pretty much just checking it out — testing my luck, kind of," Jackson said as winds roared along the seawall.

He remembered Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the flooding it caused. Looking down toward the street, Jackson said he believed Dorian wouldn't compare. True to his suspicion, the local flooding for Dorian hasn't matched that of Matthew.

The downtown area's final test was to be the high tide shortly after 2 p.m. before Dorian began to exit the stage on its path toward the Grand Strand and North Carolina coast. Forecasts all week warned of a high tide joining with hurricane storm surge to inundate the city.

The National Weather Service in Charleston had called for storm surges reaching six feet and possibly up to a foot of rain before the storm moved northward. However, the seas of Charleston Harbor were quite the opposite at high tide shortly after 2 p.m. Offshore winds pushed water back, making the water around The Battery's walls like glass.

That wasn't the case earlier. At 1:11 a.m. Thursday, the previous moment of high tide in downtown Charleston, Dorian's winds sloshed seawater over the iconic walkway of The Battery near where the Confederates fired the first shot of the Civil War, though the 7-foot tide fell short of the 10-foot tide forecast.

Briana Fludd, who was born four years after devastating Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989, said she was content to ride out Dorian from the porch of her home in what she calls the "East Side projects" on Nassau Street.

Large oaks bowed and swayed, and her street was impassable — but the lights were still on and the homes have proven over the past few storms to withstand the challenge, save for some water infiltration upstairs.

"There's no need for me to leave," Fludd said. "It's just rain and wind."

More than 250,000 people along the coast were without power as of Thursday afternoon, according to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

About 167,000 Domininion Energy customers were without power as of 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the utility. Roughly 112,00 of those were in Charleston County. More than 28,000 Dominion customers were without power in Dorchester County.

Tornadoes in Myrtle Beach:As Hurricane Dorian arrives, Myrtle Beach goes out to greet it - despite tornadoes

The outages were sporadic at first on the peninsula, with some street lights out and lights flickering in office buildings, then more widespread as the day wore on.

Dominion spokeswoman Aimee Murray said crews will not be able to begin assessing and repairing its infrastructure until after the storm has passed. The utility will prioritize restoring electricity to buildings such as hospitals, fire and police departments, and other emergency services, she said.

About 1,000 Duke Energy customers elsewhere near South Carolina's coast were without power at 1:40 p.m. Thursday, about 860 of those near Georgetown.

Follow Eric on Twitter @cericconnor

WON'T BE WASHED AWAY:This South Carolina bar is on the water. But not even Hurricane Dorian can close it