Storms leave downed trees, power outages across Lowcountry

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A line of severe thunderstorms moved across the state Tuesday afternoon into evening, producing tornados and strong winds that left a trail of damage in their wake.

Just before 5:00 p.m., the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado warning for portions of Hampton and Colleton Counties.

The severe weather started in Allendale County around 4:00 p.m., when a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” was confirmed in the area.

Lawmakers at the South Carolina Statehouse were forced to take shelter in the basement as a tornado warning was issued in Columbia.

The Hampton County Emergency Manager reported a tornado touching down in the area of Papas Road.

By 6:45 p.m., tornado warnings had been issued in Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, and Williamsburg Counties.

All tornado warnings had expired by 8:30 p.m.

All areas saw damage from heavy winds, with gusts of nearly 60 miles per hour reported on the Isle of Palms.

Downed trees were reported everywhere from Dorchester County to Mount Pleasant, shutting down roadways and taking out power lines along with them.

Over 10,259 Dominion Energy customers were without power as of 9:45 p.m., 7,384 of whom were in Charleston County. Dominion said that it was working as quickly as possible to get power restored.

The power outages caused traffic signals in Downtown Charleston to malfunction or remain on flashing status, adding to the already dangerous road conditions for drivers.

While conditions calmed down during the 9:00 p.m. hour and are expected to remain at bay overnight, another round of storms is expected to hit the area Wednesday.

News 2 will be monitoring the cleanup as well as the path of Wednesday’s storms and will provide updates as information becomes available.