Tornado watch issued for parts of the Midlands

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of South Carolina Thursday, and that included areas in the Midlands.

The tornado watch is in effect until 8 p.m.

Sections of Sumter, Orangeburg and Kershaw counties were included in the tornado watch, according to the National Weather Service.

Scattered wind gusts as powerful as 70 mph are possible.

More than 2.4 million people live in the areas under the tornado watch, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado watch goes from parts of the South Carolina coast in the Lowcountry up through Myrtle Beach and into North Carolina, beyond Fayetteville.

Rain started early in the morning in some areas, and the showers are expected to continue throughout the day. But the severe weather is most likely to happen in the afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

Beyond possible tornadoes, severe weather effects include large hail, from 1 to 2 inches in size, heavy rain and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

In addition to the tornado watch, a hazardous weather outlook was issued for all of the Midlands, and a lake watch advisory is also in effect until 8 p.m., the National Weather Service said.

Powerful winds and tornadoes could cause considerable damage to trees and branches, in addition to mobile homes, roofs and outbuildings. Vehicles would also be under siege in the case of a tornado.

Damage to trees and branches creates the possibility of downed power lines and outages.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 1:23 PM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription