Power outages, school delays linger Friday after Midlands storm
The Midlands escaped the worst of a storm that blew over the Southeast Thursday, emerging Friday morning with only scattered power outages and a few school delays to show the extent of the damage.
Dominion Energy reported clusters of outages around the Columbia area after the storm brought heavy wind and rain into the state. A tornado watch issued for the Midlands expired early Thursday evening without a touchdown being recorded, but the National Weather Service warns that high winds remain a possibility into Friday, with gusts reaching 40 mph and a wind advisory in effect until 7 p.m. Some roads may remain flooded in the morning, the weather service warned.
Columbia police reported several traffic lights were malfunctioning in the capital city’s downtown on Friday, including along Gervais Street at Barnwell, Pickens and Sumter streets. Drivers are encouraged to use caution when approaching blinking or inactive lights, and officers may be directing traffic in some areas.
School districts in Richland and Lexington counties were operating on normal schedules Friday morning, but Kershaw County schools were operating on a two-hour delay, the school district announced early Friday.
Tornadoes were reported in parts of Upstate South Carolina, and two motorists were killed in the Charlotte area. The S.C. Department of Transportation reports damage to roadways in Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville and Spartanburg counties after the storm.
Many school districts as well as the University of South Carolina let students out early on Thursday as the storm approached, with the worst weather.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 7:53 AM.
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