This week, the Carolinas saw one of the most sustained tornadoes in decades as an EF-2 tornado touched down just east of Russell Lake and traveled almost 30 miles to Greenwood, SC (about 100 miles southwest of Charlotte).
Last night, the National Weather Service confirmed the tornado and issued the following statement:
TREE DAMAGE BEGAN NEAR RUSSEL LAKE ON HARPERS FERRY RD SOUTHWEST OF LOWNDESVILLE SC. BUILDING DAMAGE OCCURRED EAST OF THERE AT TATER HILL RD. A PERSON WAS INJURED AS HE WAS BLOWN OFF HIS BACK PORCH. SPORADIC TREE DAMAGE CONTINUED UNTIL A HOME ON FAIRFIELD CHURCH RD RECEIVED EF-2 DAMAGE. EF-1 TREE DAMAGE OCCURRED FROM HIGHWAY 71 TO HIGHWAY 28. THE TORNADO INTENSIFIED AGAIN WITH EF-2 TREE DAMAGE ON STEVENSON RD. EF-1 TREE DAMAGE CONTINUED AS THE TORNADO MOVED EAST. EF-1 BUILDING AND TREE DAMAGE OCCURRED NEAR HIGHWAY 25 AND CALHOUN RD. THE TORNADO LIFTED JUST EAST OF HIGHWAY 25.
The NWS also noted how rare it is for a tornado to travel that far here in the Southeast – the last one traveling this far in South Carolina occurred in 1994:
To break down yesterday’s ~30 mile long tornado path, here is a tidbit for how rare it is for a tornado to track 30+ miles in our area: pic.twitter.com/hiUEhnTj9g
— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) May 5, 2021
There is still some chance for severe weather in the Charlotte region today – keep a close eye on the radar and local weather stations.
One last day of potential severe weather, mainly in the Charlotte metro area and points east. A marginal risk for damaging wind gusts and/or large hail. The rest of the area should see less shower and tstm coverage, and be relatively dry today. #cltwx #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/trdEcKcDGL
— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) May 5, 2021