Ocean water temperature along the Grand Strand beaches is about 20 degrees warmer than New York ocean water during the summer months and approximately 10 degrees warmer during the winter months.

Annual Averages

(Based on 30 years of data)

• Sunny Days - 215

• Days when maximum temperature is more than 90 Degrees Fahrenheit - 46

• Days when .10 inches of rain or more - 117

• Average air temperature in Fahrenheit - 64 Degrees

• Average water temperature in Fahrenheit - 66 Degrees

• Average relative humidity at 1:00 p.m. - 56%

Myrtle Beach, through private contractors, provides lifeguards on the beach from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. in season. Lifeguards use a flag system to inform swimmers on ocean conditions.

Green Flag- Safe Conditions

Yellow Flag- Caution, rough currents or unfavorable winds

Red Flag - Danger, swimming prohibited

Butter Beans

Flat beans, like lima beans, shelled before cooking, butter beachs are often served with rice.

Calabash-style Seafood

This name comes from the Southern method of dredging fish in cornmeal and frying.

Chicken Bog

Strictly speaking, this is a rice pilau (pronounced per-loo) or pilaf, which combines rice, meats and chicken broth.

Country Style Steak

Thinly sliced or cubed round or sirloin steak which has been dipped in batter and fired.

Country-style Vegetables

Vegetables which are native to Southern soils, such as corn, okra, tomatoes, beans and peas that are cooked slowly with a bit of fatback or bacon to flavor and are also highly seasoned.

Grits and Maters

Coarsely ground corn cooked to a mushy softness and served with stewed tomatoes.

Hushpuppies or Corndoggers

Fried pieces of cornmeal dough seasoned with onion salt or minced onion and most often served with fried fish. Originally "hushpuppies" came from the leftover cornmeal used for frying the fresh fish at the campsite near the edge of the water. The name is derived from the original use of these morsels thrown to the dogs (puppies, to Southerners who never go into the wilderness without at least one "puppy") to keep the animals at bay while their human counterparts ate the fish.

Pig Pickin'

The meat of a pig is slowly cooked over hot coals in a pit and basted until the meat, dripping with juices falls off the bones.

She-Crab Soup

A cream-style soup, not unlike bisque, always with crabmeat or crab row or red crab eggs, flavored with cayenne pepper and sherry.

More than 700 species of shells live in the waters of South Carolina. Among the most common are whelks, angel wings, arks, pen shells, augers, cockles, slipper shells, jingles, coquina, and olive shells. Starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars also can be found on local beaches.

When sand dollars are alive, they have a dark, fu-like covering. When they wash up on the beach, the sun bleaches them white. Sand dollars are extremely fragile.

The most common fossils found on area beaches are sharks teeth, which are usually black or dark brown. Fossilized shark's teeth are millions of years old. Other fossils found in the area include animal bones, horses' teeth and fossilized shells.

The best times to look for shells and fossils are on an outgoing tide, during a new moon or full moon, and after a storm.

A dance described as "Southern tradition of style and grace." the shag was born decades ago along this stretch of Carolina coastline. Here shagging is a phenomenon, transcending age and bringing together thousands of enthusiasts seeking to perfect its laid-back seemingly effortless moves. The shag is so much a part of the culture, it has been declared South Carolina's official dance.

A close cousin of the 1930s craze called the Big Apple, the shag has been the subject of a movie, books, and countless magazine and newspapers articles. And although the jazz sounds of the 1930s helped to create the acrobatic Big Apple, we Southerners slowed it down and smoothed out a bit.

Much more than a dance, the shag is also a feeling - of friendship, and of sand, salt and surf combined with smoothly worn hardwood floors. It's the unhurried moves of a dance that knows no age barriers, a way of life set to rhythm and blues, an opportunity to re-live youth.