Storms, strong winds headed to Rock Hill area

A line of strong thunderstorms is bearing down on the Rock Hill area, and forecasters say wind damage is possible with a few of the storms.

The storms, which have formed along a cold front, are racing eastward at 55 mph. National Weather Service meteorologists expect the storms to reach York and Chester counties by 4 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, before moving into Lancaster County.

“A damaging wind gust could occur with any storm as it moves through the area,” says meteorologist Rodney Hinson, of the National Weather Service office in Greer.

The line of storms headed for the Rock Hill area could produce wind gusts of 60 mph. At 3:30 p.m., the strongest of the storms was in the North Carolina foothills, but several other strong thunderstorms were reported on radar near Spartanburg.

An earlier thunderstorm produced wind gusts of about 40 mph and briefly heavy rain in the Tega Cay area of northern York County.

Winds were strong Monday afternoon ahead of the front, and Hinson said even non-thunderstorm wind gusts could be strong enough to down some trees.

The showers and thunderstorms are expected to move east of the area quickly in the early-evening hours, with clearing skies before midnight.

That will set the stage for two days of very nice weather, forecasters say. Humidity levels, which have been summer-like the past three days, will drop considerably. Mostly sunny skies and afternoon highs in the upper 70s are forecast Tuesday and Wednesday.

This story was originally published May 1, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Storms, strong winds headed to Rock Hill area."