South Carolina was still expecting strong storms on Thursday afternoon, as the impending weather canceled school events and closed government offices.
Broken segments of a long undulating front were approaching the state from two points – rain spread from Beaufort to the southern edge of the Charleston region on the coast, and spread across Upstate, around Greenville. None of the storm lines were still firing hard enough to bring in the predicted strong winds and hail.
In Charleston, a line of stronger winds and atmospheric instability behind the oncoming rains could still fuel more severe storms, 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 tornado alert was issued for 12 counties in the most southern points in South Carolina, extending from Orangeburg to Charleston and the Savannah River in the southwestern tip of the state, and to 15 counties in the interior of the state, in an area that extends from Lancaster County to Greenville to Augusta North.
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.
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