CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three tornadoes, one of which grew to the strength of an EF-2 with winds of 115 mph, impacted portions of southern Chester and Lancaster counties in South Carolina Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday after initial storm investigations in the impacted areas.
The severe thunderstorm was placed under a Tornado Warning as it moved south of the City of Chester around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The severe storm dropped golf ball size hail, produced damaging winds, which lead to power outages across the region.
As the storm crossed US Highway 321, the National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-1 tornadic touchdown that stretched at least 4.75 miles just north of Little Rocky Creek.
The storm motion continued east, where a second tornado caused additional damage as it crossed Interstate 77. This EF-2 tornado moved east towards Great Falls, where National Weather Service storm investigators found damage Duke Street, Hampton Street, and Republic Street.
The tornado then crossed the Catawba River, where the rotation continued towards the City of Kershaw before the tornado warning was allowed to expire at 7:30 p.m.
The National Weather Service is also surveying one small tornado, an EF-1, east of Kershaw in Lancaster County.
The National Weather Service offices from both Greenville-Spartanburg as well as Columbia are continuing to conduct storm survey investigations. Additional details, including the possibility of additional damage reports and touchdowns, could come at a later date as the investigation continues.
One area of interest was near Irwin in Lancaster County, where a trained weather spotter reported a large swath of trees down on Green Road near Cedar Creek Road in the immediate aftermath of the storm Tuesday.
None of the three tornadoes are believed to have directly caused any injuries or deaths, but lightning associated with the storm has been blamed for a man's death in Chester County.
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