6,000+ without power, some roads blocked as 50 MPH wind, rain hit York, Chester, Lancaster
More than 6,000 customers in York, Chester and Lancaster counties in South Carolina lost power Monday morning as heavy wind and rain knocked down trees and blocked some roads, officials said.
Wind gusts could hit close to 50 miles per hour through the day Monday with as much as a half inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
The outages to electrical service were widely spread and included all three main utility providers.
As of 9:30 a.m., Duke Energy reported about 6,000 customers without service in and around the three counties, according to its outage map. More than a thousand customers were out in Lancaster County near U.S. 521 between Indian Land and the North Carolina state line. In Chester County near Interstate 77, another, 1,000 customers were without service.
Still more were without power in several areas of York County.
York Electric Cooperative showed about 500 customers without service in York County at 9:30 a.m., its outage map showed. The disruptions to service were widespread, from western York County east to the Catawba River.
The city of Rock Hill utilities department showed about 370 customers affected around mid-morning, the city’s online outage map showed.
It is unclear when service will be restored.
Roads blocked, some flooding
Police agencies reported roads blocked in several areas from downed trees and power poles.
Roads were blocked near Rock Hill, Clover, York, and close to Lake Wylie, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office. Southeast of Rock Hill, a pole snapped on Lesslie Highway near S.C. 5 that caused a road to be closed after power lines were in the road, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Flooding closed part of Stallcup Road near Rambo Road south of the Rock Hill city limits near S.C. 324, deputies said.
Road incidents and crashes were reported in all three counties with trees blocking roads in rural York and Chester County in several areas, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Some trees were down in Lancaster County but damage was not reported as serious, said Darren Player, Lancaster County Emergency Management Director.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 8:40 AM.
