YORK, S.C. — A severe thunderstorm with radar estimated winds of at least 40 mph toppled trees and brought down powerlines across portions of York and Lancaster counties in South Carolina Friday. The same storm could have also potentially produced damage in portions of Union County, North Carolina and Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
The storm, which prompted a Severe Thunderstorm Warning from the National Weather Service, resulted in about 12,000 customers without power. At 6 p.m., Duke Energy said they had about 3,100 customers without power in York County and another 6,200 in Lancaster County.
The first warning was issued around 2:15 p.m. as the thunderstorm entered western York County. In Smyrna, it produced 0.70 inch hail. Video from WCNC Charlotte viewer Russell Brainerd, who uploaded his video to the WCNC Charlotte app, showed the gusty winds and heavy rain.
As the storm moved east, it brought down trees on the western side of the City of York. Confirmed storm reports include:
- A tree fell on a roof on Propst Road
- Multiple trees down on South Beersheba Road
- Multiple trees down on Cedar Grove Road
- Multiple trees down blocking the intersection of Black Highway and Windy Hill Road
- Multiple trees down on California Road
- Multiple trees down on powerlines along Liberty Street
Additional trees also fell along Daves Road north of McConnells
As the storm approached Lancaster county around 4 p.m., it produced damage including:
- Tree in the road along reservation rd.
- Several trees down by highway 5 and riverside road.
- 1.75 hail near Andrew Jackson State Park
- 60 mph winds near Buford
In Union county, dime-sized hail fall on Dapple Ridge Road. Multiple utility poles were also down in the area.
There were also two broken power poles on West Elizabeth Street near Jefferson in Chesterfield County. The National Weather Service estimated winds of 50-60 mph.
The severe storms will end later Friday evening. The storms were associated with a passing cold front, which will bring much nicer weather in this weekend's weather forecast.