Storms knock out power, down trees across Upstate

Standing in her front yard on Old Gunter Road in Piedmont, Willa Grace Williams said she’d never experienced a storm like this before.

A massive pine tree, probably as old as her white wooden house lay toppled in her yard, cracked at its base, just clear of her house. The 80-year-old Williams attempted to pick up a few branches scattered across the concrete driveway, but to no avail.

Williams, who said she’d lived at the property for much of her life, was asleep when the tree fell.

“I heard the thunder and lightning but didn’t hear the tree when it fell. I saw the tree this morning,” said Williams who lives at the property with her niece.

Jacqueline Williams who walked over from her yard with her son, Owen Williams, 45, laughed at the sight of the tree.

“She wanted it down and it’s down now,” said Jacqueline, 72, accompanied by her son Owen Williams, who came down from city limits to check on his mother.

The two women who also are cousins have been neighbors for 45 years, Jacqueline said. She drove from Columbia Thursday morning to find a smaller tree down in her yard.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, both women were still without power.

Across the county, a number of residents were without power, with multiple reports of downed trees and power lines, as the Upstate recovered from severe storms that hit overnight Wednesday.

In the Upstate, the National Weather Service confirmed that Antreville and Honea Path were hit with tornadoes overnight.

While surveying damage Thursday morning, investigators determined an EF0 tornado briefly touched down near Brook Street in Honea Path.

Several minutes earlier, there was “damage was more intense and concentrated in the Bryant Road area north of Antreville. An EF0 tornado was confirmed to have briefly touched down near Bryant Road, doing mainly tree damage, according to a statement from the weather service.”

Oconee County sustained some straight line wind damage, but nothing that appeared to be the work of a tornado, according to the weather service.

The American Red Cross reported assisting a number of families in Pickens, Anderson and Greenville after homes were damaged during the storm, the organization said in a release.

Two Greenville County elementary schools were without power and an Anderson County school district delayed opening for two hours after storms swept through the Upstate late Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Lights were powered by generators in hallways and common areas for Plain and Simpsonville Elementary, said Beth Brotherton, spokeswoman for Greenville County Schools.

"Most classrooms have plenty of natural light," she said. "Students in classrooms that are too dark for instruction will be moved to areas with more light like the media center."

The southwest part of Anderson County experienced some of the worst damage from the storms.

Fallen trees, downed power lines and debris littered many secondary roads near Starr and Iva, said Lt. David Baker, interim director of Anderson County Emergency Management Services.

Anderson School District 3 started its day on a two-hour delay due to road conditions, according to the South Carolina Department of Education.

Baker said emergency services officials spent the day checking for damage and clearing roads.

Baker said a few homes had wind damage and one tree leaned on a house. The Highway Patrol responded to a small number of accidents that were weather-related. Baker said he wasn't aware of anyone with injuries due to storm damaged homes or wrecks.

"We were very fortunate, everything was isolated," Baker said.

In Pickens County, Pierce Womack, deputy director of the county’s emergency services, said there were a few scattered trees and power lines down, but no major damage or injuries.

“We fared pretty well as far as we know,” Womack said. “We had some sporadic calls. We’re prepared for the wind today and have folks on standby for that."

In Oconee County, downed trees caused minimal damage said Scott Krein, the county's deputy chief and emergency manager of special operations.

"Overall, we fared pretty well," Krein said. "We had minimal trees downs compared to what we were prepared for, and very few weather-related injuries."

He said the injuries were not related to fallen trees, but the rain storm. For example, someone fell in the parking lot that had a lot of standing water as they were running inside to get away from the rain.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for most of the Upstate Thursday. Residents can expect gusts up to 40 mph. The strong winds today are a concern for local emergency management officials.