Storms cause widespread damage; trees knocked down throughout Orangeburg County

The National Weather Service reported 12 incidents of downed trees from Cameron to Norway.

The Orangeburg Municipal Airport recorded wind gusts up to 54 mph with sustained winds of 41 mph at about 9 p.m. The sustained winds and gusts had the strength of a tropical storm.

The storms did minimal structural damage.

A portion of an awning at the Shell gas station at the corner of Broughton and Chestnut streets was torn off. Also, an operator booth at the Elloree trash convenience site was flipped over, according to Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young.

The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities had over 3,000 customers that experienced interruptions during the storm.

“We were hit pretty hard last night beginning around 10:30 p.m.,” DPU spokesman Randy Etters said. “Some of these outages lasted as long as seven hours due to the extensive damage in particular areas and the difficulty in accessing the location.”

“Our team worked through the night to restore everyone as safely and quickly as possible,” he said.

Calhoun County Emergency Management Director David Chojnacki said there were no reports of structural damage or injuries from the storms.

Here is a list of the incidents and times reported on Friday morning:

• 1:39 a.m.: Five miles east of Norway – Dispatch reported two trees down across the road near the intersection of Sturkie Street and Bonnette Road.

• 1:45 a.m.: Six miles north of Edisto – Spotter reported North Road near Deer Crossing Road completely blocked due to a large tree in the road.

• 1:49 a.m.: One mile north of Orangeburg – S.C. Department of Transportation reported two trees down on Hillsboro Road.

• 1:52 a.m.: One mile east of Orangeburg – SCDOT reported a tree down on U.S. Highway 301 in Orangeburg.

• 1:52 a.m.: One mile east of Brookdale – SCDOT reported numerous trees down on Belleville Road.

• 1:54 a.m.: Two miles east of Brookdale – SCDOT reported a tree down on Greenwood Avenue

• 1:59 a.m.: Four miles west of Cameron – SCDOT reported numerous trees down on Langley Road.

• 2:04 a.m.: Three miles south of Branchville – SCDOT reported a tree down on McAlhany Road.

• 2:06 a.m.: Four miles east of Branchville – SCDOT reported a tree down on Hoghaven Road.

• 2:07 a.m.: Two miles north of Bowman – Social media user reported down trees along Interstate 26 and some side roads in Orangeburg County near Bowman.

• 2:08 a.m.: near Bowman – Orangeburg County 911 dispatch received a report of a tree down across the road in Bowman at the intersection of Oak Street and Charleston Highway.

• 2:17 a.m. near Elloree – A trained storm spotter relayed wind damage report through social media with photos. A parking lot light pole at a commercial food distribution center was blown over land.

Here are some of the more notable rainfall totals recorded by Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) weather volunteers:

• 1.62 inches fell at station 6.9 miles west of Santee

• 1.31 inches at station 2.2 miles west of Elloree

• 1.01 inches at station seven miles southeast of Neeses

• .72 inches at station two miles east-northeast of Santee

• .84 inches at Orangeburg Municipal Airport (this total was not recorded by CoCoRaHS)

• .65 inches at station .4 miles north of Orangeburg

• .59 inches at station 2.8 miles west of Denmark

• .25 inches at station 3.9 miles east of Swansea in Calhoun County