Tornadoes hit parts of Chester, Lancaster counties this week, weather experts say
Two tornadoes carved out paths of uprooted trees and residential damage Tuesday night in Chester and Lancaster counties, weather experts say.
The twisters destroyed at least one house and damaged others in Great Falls, but most of the storms’ paths were in sparsely populated areas.
Survey teams from the National Weather Service offices in Greer and Columbia have concluded that an EF2 tornado, with top winds of 115 mph, was on the ground for 14.24 miles near Great Falls in Chester and Lancaster counties.
And an EF1 tornado, with top winds of 100 mph, tore up trees and power lines over 4.75 miles of Chester.
The tornadoes did not cause injuries or fatalities. But the supercell thunderstorm responsible for the twisters has been associated with the lightning-caused death of a man in Chester.
Eddie Murphy, Chester County Emergency Management Director, said Chester officials toured the damage areas with weather service teams Wednesday and found extensive tree damage that stretched from the middle of the county east to the Lancaster County line. Some homes were damaged by falling trees, Murphy said.
The damage assessment will continue Thursday as officials seek to determine if Chester County will be eligible for a disaster declaration from the storm, Murphy said.
“The damage is similar to what we saw after Hurricane Hugo in 1989,” Murphy said. “There was a path of damage that just went on for miles and miles.”
The EF1 tornado touched down at 6:32 p.m., according to meteorologists, near U.S. 321, about 4 miles south of Chester. Authorities said the funnel cloud reached a maximum width of 100 yards as it moved eastward. The damage path ended near Discovery Road, south of S.C. 97, or about 5 miles southeast of Chester.
Officials said numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted, and two homes were damaged.
The EF2 tornado touched down at 6:45 p.m., the survey teams said, near Old Catholic Church Road, about 7 miles west of Great Falls.
The twister crossed Interstate 77, damaging homes and trees along Mount Gap, Ross Dye and Georgetown roads.
Meteorologists say the storm then turned southeast toward Great Falls, crossed U.S. 21, and caused damage on Republic, Walnut, Duke and Hampton streets in Great Falls. A home on Republic Street was destroyed by a large tree, officials say..
Top winds were estimated to be about 105 mph at the time, authorities say.
“We had damage all the way from U.S. 321 and Ashford Road in Chester southeast to Great Falls,” Murphy said. “There was severe damage in Great Falls. We found some trees that were at least 75 years old that were snapped off and broken, in a pattern that showed the route of the tornado’s path.”
The tornado then strengthened as it crossed the Catawba River into southwestern Lancaster County, with winds reaching 115 mph. The damage path was 200 yards at its widest point.
Officials said the tornado dissipated after crossing Cunningham Quarters and Mable Anthony roads.
The same storm dropped golf ball-sized hail in Chester and Lancaster counties, and tennis ball-sized hail later near Bethune in northern Kershaw County.
Lancaster County Emergency Management Director Darren Player said officials with his office and the weather service used drones Wednesday to take aerial video and pictures of the damage areas.
“We were fortunate that most of our damage from the tornado was in uninhabited areas,” Player said. “There was some property damage near Kershaw. We were fortunate to have no injuries in Lancaster County, and that that none of the property damage was to the point that people could not stay in their homes.”
Teams from two National Weather Service offices conducted the survey because the Greer office covers Chester County, while Lancaster County is under the Columbia office’s coverage area.
Tornadoes’ strength is rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale, ranging from EF0 (65 to 85 mph) to EF5 (above 200 mph).
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 7:59 AM.
