Large crop of seaweed washing up on Grand Strand beaches

MYRTLE BEACH — The green tentacles wrapped around Cindy Champion’s leg as she swam in the ocean.

It was seaweed. A large crop of the slimy ocean plant is washing up on Grand Strand beaches because of high winds and water churned by a low pressure system passing through, experts said.

‘‘It was awful. I was in the water, and it would just hang on me,’’ said Champion, on vacation from Asheville, N.C.

The seaweed invasion is causing officials to send extra crews to remove the algae before it becomes more of a nuisance.

‘‘It’s not harmful, except when that dead stuff decomposes, it’s going to smell,’’ said Susan Libes, a marine science and chemistry professor at Coastal Carolina University.

Myrtle Beach started sending out extra crews to clean the beaches Friday, said city spokesman Mark Kruea, who said the area saw an even bigger batch of seaweed wash ashore about three years ago.

The problem is worst at the southern end of Horry County, according to county spokesman Lisa Bourcier, who has talked to the crews that rake and pick up seaweed across 13 miles of beaches.

‘‘It’s Mother Nature, and I think people understand that, especially when you get any type of storm or turbulent waters,’’ Bourcier said.

Strong winds, high tides or strong currents can bring a large amount of seaweed to shore, said David Whitaker, director of the office of fisheries management at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

A low pressure system moved inland this weekend. That stirred up the ocean and the seaweed was then pushed ashore by strong onshore winds, said Jason Caldwell, severe weather liaison for the State Climate Office.