LEXINGTON, S.C. — The National Weather Service has confirmed at least two tornadoes touched down in the Midlands during Wednesday's severe storms.
The agency said Wednesday night said the two confirmed twisters were both in Lexington County: one in South Congaree and Red Bank, with the other striking near Gilbert. Both were weak, rating an EF-0, the lowest level on the Enhanced Fujita scale that measures tornado intensity.
The first tornado spun up at 10:44 a.m. around three miles southeast of Red Bank and had winds of 75 miles an hour. The weather service says the tornado likely began in a wooded area between Cathy Lane and Old Orangeburg Road. The tornado then continued east-southeast crossing Beckman Road then into an inaccessible field. Then farther southeast the tornado crossed Norman Drive and Highway 302 near Gator Drive, before dissipating near Greenwood Drive.
The tornado traveled a total of 2.9 miles and caused minor damage, snapping and uprooting trees.
The other was near Gilbert and produced damage along Calks Ferry Road and Nazareth Road, mainly downing trees and power lines, the weather service said. Additional information on the wind speed and path of the storm is expected Thursday or Friday.
The weather service will also be surveying other sites in the Midlands that may have seen tornadoes, including in Calhoun, Lexington, and Orangeburg Counties. They'll also be out in Barnwell and Aiken Counties.
Roy Ferrell lives just off of South Lake Drive in Lexington County. He says he was just a few hundred yards from his home when the sky turned dark and rain began to kick up.
"[I] was in the middle of some turbulent wind, turbulent rain coming down horizontally, and a lot of the warnings coming over the radio as I turned in. It was very challenging to say the least, I didn't know what was going to happen next."
He says he was able to get into his house and no damage was done to him or his home.
The same can't be said for an area just a short drive down Old Orangeburg Road Cecil Creech and his family were hoping to wait out the storm in their den.
"the storm came up and got worse and worse, the wind really starting howling and whaling and all of the sudden we heard a sound just like a train whistle the hail started hitting the side of the house, my daughter and my wife were in the den with me, they got up and ran to the hallway."
He says once the storm passed he went outside to a yard full of damage.
"Blew my flag pole down, blew one of the supports that hold up my car port down." He says, the surge, "Went back to where my pole building is and my man cave, ripped the roof off of it, and took everything that was under it and through it all over the yard."
Members of his family and church and other families came by to check on him and lend some help. He thanks God that no one was hurt.
"That's the main thing, no one was hurt and all this other stuff can be replaced or repaired."