COLUMBIA (WACH) -- A storm that rocked much of the nation over the past few days is now impacting parts of the Midlands.
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms is working its way through the southern and eastern Midlands. Heavy rain, damaging winds and a tornado were reported with this line stretching from Orangeburg to Lee county.
A Tornado Watch was issued early Saturday morning for the entire Midlands area as major storms sparked up in Georgia. Around Noon, the watch was extended until 9 p.m. for Richland, Clarendon, Orangeburg, Calhoun, Sumter, Lee and Kershaw counties where most of the activity this afternoon has been taking place. Richland and Kershaw counties have since been dropped from the Tornado Watch.
The amount of cloud coverage combined with more active energy-stealing thunderstorm clusters in North Carolina and Georgia lowered the system's impact on the western Midlands. However, the area did see winds, brief heavy rain and occasional lightning along the last line of storms.
"As we noted Friday in our severe weather outlook, the eastern third of the state is likely to see the greatest impacts from today's storm system," says Kier.
The same line of storms hammered the South and Midwest killing more than a dozen in its path. However, the Capital City and surrounding areas were left mostly untouched as the front pushed through.
SkyWACH forecaster Henry Rothenberg says Friday was the most active day in severe weather nationwide since January 17, 2010.
Remember to stay tuned to WACH FOX and our Weather Page for the very latest in the event of severe weather. Remember you can also get updates from the SkyWACH Weather Team on Twitter: @SkyWACH.
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