‘No damage’: No tornadoes in York County despite warnings, emergency management says
York County appears to have avoided any damage or reported tornadoes Thursday afternoon after a warning was issued by the National Weather Service, officials said.
Chuck Haynes, York County Emergency Management director, said at 6 p.m. no damage was reported and no tornadoes touched down.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning around 4:40 p.m. for parts of northern York County near Lake Wylie, Fort Mill and Tega Cay close to the North Carolina state line. The warning went to tens of thousands of people on cellphones and other electronic devices.
York County warning sirens were also activated around 4:47 p.m. in the areas where the tornado warning was in place.
A tornado warning means a tornado has been spotted or indicated by weather radar, according to the York County Office of Emergency Management.
The tornado warning, which followed a tornado watch issued around 2 p.m. Thursday, expired at 6 p.m., officials said.
WCNC-TV in Charlotte reported severe thunderstorms were reported in parts of Lancaster County Thursday afternoon before 6 p.m..
Darren Player, Lancaster County Emergency Management director, urged residents to remain vigilant until the storm passes because of the possibility of severe weather.
Some customers across York County lost power after trees and power lines were knocked down earlier in the afternoon.
York Electric Cooperative reported almost 70 customers were without power near Clover, according to the utility’s outage map. Most of those customers had power restored by around 4 p.m., the utility reported.
York County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Trent Faris said trees and power lines were down across the road at Beamguard Road and Lawrence Road near Clover.
Deputies reminded the public not to drive near or over downed power lines because of the potential electricity danger.
York Electric, Duke Energy and Rock Hill Utilities, the other major electricity providers, did not show any outages at 6 p.m., according to their outage maps.
Strong wind gusts over 20 MPH were expected throughout York County, officials said.
All area school districts had virtual learning Thursday because of the weather forecast.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
