Severe thunderstorms move out of Lowcountry
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The powerful storm that brought strong winds and rain to the Lowcountry left behind power outages, road closures and more.
All thunderstorm watches and warnings for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties have expired. Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties are also in the clear.
With peak wind gusts recorded at 69 miles per hour at the Charleston International Airport, the wind played a major role in Tuesday’s storm.
Gusts caused power outages in the area as trees fell on power lines, leaving many in the Lowcountry without power for hours.
“What we’re dealing with primarily is damage from winds and, and, of course, because of those strong winds, damage to trees, tree limbs, taking down our poles as well as energized lines,” Dominion Energy spokesperson Paul Fischer said.
Trees reported down in strong winds
The National Weather Service released reports of multiple trees down in Dorchester County. The agency listed these locations where trees had fallen:
- Beech Hill Road at Sprucewood Drive
- 100 block of Blossom Street
- Old Spell Road near Highway 15 South
- 300 block of Clarks Hill Drive with power line involvement
- 100 block of Elmwood Avenue
- 2300 block of Highway 78
- 100 block of Hudson Road
Drivers are urged to use caution when driving through windy conditions. If you see downed power lines, call 911. Do not approach them as they may still be live.
Tornado watch for most of SC expires
Forty of the state’s 46 counties were under a tornado watch because of the same line of storms. That watch included all of the Lowcountry, the Pee Dee and the Midlands. It remained in effect until 6 p.m.
RELATED: SCHEDULE DELAYS: Schools, offices schedule late starts for Wednesday
SEE STORM DAMAGE NEAR YOU? If you can safely take a photo or video, send it to us here.
Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. Although a tornado is not immediately likely, if one is spotted, act quickly and move to a place of safety inside a sturdy structure such as a basement or small interior room.
The Live 5 First Alert Weather team is tracking the threat and declared Tuesday as a First Alert Weather Day late last week to make people aware of the potential effects of a strong low-pressure system.
The Lowcountry is under a high-wind watch on Tuesday for the first time in over a decade.
“It has been 14 years since we’ve had a high-wind watch, which is issued when you’re looking at non-thunderstorm-related winds or non-tropical storm-related winds that are getting up to 50 to 60 mph and we could have some gusts up to 60 mph,” Live 5 First Alert Meteorologist Joey Sovine said.
He said most sustained winds will be closer to 30 mph along the coast but back inland, wind gusts up to 50 mph are a possibility. Even stronger winds could occur on elevated bridges such as the Ravenel Bridge, the Don Holt Bridge, the James B. Edwards Bridge, the Ben Sawyer Bridge, the Isle of Palms Connector, the Amos Nathaniel Rodgers Bridge, the McKinley Washington Jr. Bridge and the Woods Memorial Bridge. Dangerous driving conditions are likely on these bridges. Heed any potential bridge closures or warnings from local officials.
READ MORE: In severe weather, Charleston County issues advisories, not bridge closures
Computer models show wind gusts will be stronger by lunchtime and will be the strongest between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
“We do have an enhanced risk of severe weather, three out of five on our severe weather risk scale, which for January is really, really high for this time of the year,” he said.
He said parts of the Lowcountry could expect up to two inches of rain with isolated areas receiving slightly more than that. He said he does not expect widespread flooding, but isolated ponding on roads is a possibility. Rain chances will be 50-50 through lunchtime before they rise after lunch. The peak for rain will be around 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.
