Bad weather hit South Carolina late Thursday afternoon, with a tornado warning issued for part of the state’s interior.
The alert was issued for the northeast of Spartanburg County and the northwest of Cherokee County, lasting up to 15:15. An alert means that people on the path of the storm must seek protection immediately.
Broken segments of a long front approached the colon state – rains spread from Beaufort to the Charleston region on the coast and spread across Upstate, pushing eastward on an organized line from Greenville.
In Charleston, a line of stronger winds and atmospheric instability behind the oncoming rains may further fuel a more serious climate, said Michael Emlaw, a meteorologist at the Meteorological Service.
The main risk is strong winds, which can reach more than 60 mph. Emlaw said that some tornadoes are still possible, but “it seems that the threat of significant tornadoes (EF2 or higher) has lessened.”
At 2 pm, several Upstate counties were also added to a tornado clock that expires at 6 pm. The clock means that the ingredients are present in the atmosphere for tornadoes to form, but none have been found.
A previous tornado alert was issued for 6 counties in the southernmost point in South Carolina, extending along the immediate coast from Charleston County to Jasper County. The new alert covers 15 counties in Upstate, in an area that stretches from Lancaster County to Greenville to North Augusta.
The storm line had traveled hundreds of miles since Wednesday as it spread to eastern Louisiana. The front generated 27 unconfirmed reports of possible tornadoes, mostly centered in Mississippi and Alabama.
Come back to learn more about this development story.
Natalie Walters contributed reporting from Greenville.
Gusts of wind and rain from a series of storms hit pedestrians crossing Calhoun Street on Thursday, March 18, 2021 in Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford / Staff
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