At least 11 tornadoes hit SC Monday, meteorologists say. Death toll expected to rise
At least 11 tornadoes touched down in South Carolina during severe weather on Monday that caused nine deaths, according to the National Weather Service.
The number of tornadoes and the number of fatalities are expected to increase as weather service meteorologists continue to survey damage from storms that blew across South Carolina early Monday morning.
The storms prompted Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a second state of emergency for South Carolina, along with the emergency already declared because of the coronavirus.
The 11 confirmed tornadoes hit Pickens, Greenville, Oconee, Georgetown, Barnwell, Orangeburg, Calhoun, Aiken and Colleton counties.
A twister with estimated winds of 136 to 165 mile per hour winds cut an almost 32-mile path through Barnwell, Orangeburg and Calhoun counties, killing at least two people and injuring at least 7, according to the weather service. Another tornado with the same estimated wind speed traveled nearly 30 miles through Aiken, Barnwell and Orangeburg. Barnwell was hit by one other twister as well.
Three tornadoes went through Pickens County with one having winds ranging from 136 to 165 miles per hour. That tornado also struck Oconee County, where one person was killed. Georgetown County was hit by three tornadoes with winds estimated up to 135 miles per hour.
Meteorologists are assessing storm damage in other parts of South Carolina where other tornadoes likely touched down, including in Hampton and Colleton counties.
When those surveys are done, meteorologists will know more details about other fatalities, according to Frank Alsheimer of the National Weather Service in Columbia.
To determine if a tornado touched down, the National Weather Service sends a meteorologist to a storm ravaged area to survey damages. The meteorologist is able to determine the estimated wind speed of a tornado from the amount of destruction to trees, buildings and other structures.
The tornadoes that touched down were “rain wrapped,” Alsheimer said. Because of surrounding precipitation, these types of tornadoes are less visible compared to the types of cyclones seen in the Midwest.
State agencies have been on search-and-rescue missions, according to the state’s emergency management division.
On Wednesday afternoon, utilities reported 16,355 power outages statewide, down from more than 290,000 reported on Monday, the division said.