FAIRFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — The National Weather Service (NWS) on Friday confirmed three tornadoes across the Midlands.
The storm survey team followed the path of a severe squall line that moved through parts of the Midlands during the early morning hours of Thursday, May 9.
In addition to areas of straight-line wind damage, the team found one EF-0 tornado in northwestern Newberry County near Whitmire, one EF-0 tornado in northwestern Fairfield County, and one EF-1 tornado in Fairfield County near Ridgeway.
The storm, which the National Weather Service (NWS) out of Columbia was investigating, swept through the area around 4 a.m. on Thursday. Initial damage reports showed the storm emerged from Whitmire. It then moved southeast through Fairfield County before weakening near Elgin.
The NWS team focused its survey efforts primarily on Ridgway, where the most significant damage was reported.
Meteorologists Chris Landolfi and Steve Lavoie from the NWS spent Friday assessing the extent of the damage.
"The amount of trees that fell is pretty substantial," said Landolfi. "In the backyard, we have some, like, patio structures. A lot of times, the winds for a tornado can get underneath those and cause the structure to fail, but we don’t actually see that, so the only damage we see is this specific tree here.”
Initially, the damage did not appear consistent with a tornado, but as the survey progressed down Cedar Rock Road in Ridgway, it became evident that straight-line wind damage was not the sole cause.
The presence of uprooted and snapped trees facing different directions suggested the possibility of a tornado.
"We're looking at our damage points so far; it does kinda make it seem like they are in a line, which would further support beyond all the damage that we've seen that we do have a tornado," Landolfi said.
The NWS teams then worked to determine the strength of the winds and assign a rating on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, ranging from EF0 to EF5.