COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Severe thunderstorms left a path of destruction across the Midlands Thursday night. The activity prompted the National Weather Service to issue several severe thunderstorm warnings for the area. Every county, with the exception of Lee County, has been impacted by the storms.
As of Friday afternoon, crews are working to restore electricity to more than 14,000 customers in South Carolina, mostly in the Columbia area.
The storms damaged the Governor's Mansion on Thursday night. A sport utility vehicle belonging to Governor Nikki Haley's husband was crushed when a tree fell. Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said Friday a porch railing and two flagpoles on the mansion also were damaged. Godfrey says no one was hurt. Haley planned to tour the coast Friday to discuss hurricane preparations.
The main threat with storms was golf ball sized hail and winds exceeding 70 miles per hour. At one point, the SkyWACH Weather Team says there were more than 3,000 lightning strikes in a 10 minute period.
The National Weather Service is reporting downed trees and destroyed boats in Lexington and Richland counties. Several WACH Fox employees reported minor flooding and marble sized hail with these storms. We've also received pictures and video from viewers showing severe damage around the Midlands including uprooted trees, downed power lines and other wind damage.
If you have hail or storm damage in your area send them to mojo@wach.com or share them via our Facebook or Twitter pages. You can also leave a comment below to share what you've seen.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH