By HEATHER RUPPE
Storms and tornadic activity that swept through the Lowcountry for three days on Tuesday, April 5th through Thursday, April 7th created high winds and some minor property damage in Colleton County.
Official reports from the National Weather Service (NWS) have since assessed the damage.
According to the NWS, the tornado that came through Colleton on Thursday, April 7th was an EF-0, with peak winds of 75 mph.
“There were a few structures with minor roof damage, such as missing shingles, and a fence was destroyed in Sandy Springs Circle,” said Colleton County Fire-Rescue Chief Barry McRoy.
McRoy adds that there were no reported injuries in Colleton County related to the weather or the tornado.
According to the NWS, the tornado that came through Colleton County on April 6th actually touched down at 10:59 p.m. It started on Alison Lane and left a 1.016-mile path.
It reached maximum winds of 75 mph.
“A weak tornado began just west of Alison Lane, where it snapped and uprooted a few trees,” the NWS stated in its official summary report. “It then moved eastward across Sandy Springs Circle. At its ending point just east of Sandy Springs Circle, it snapped and uprooted more trees and destroyed a fence.”
The storms created more severe damage in nearby Allendale County and in Bryan County in Georgia.
According to McRoy, the series of storms prompted the NWS to issue three Tornado Warnings for Colleton County on Tuesday, with weather radars indicating tornadic activity in Smoaks, Ashton and Bennetts Point/Edisto Island. “No reports of injuries or structural damage were received Tuesday,” he said. “There were seven reports of trees and power lines down and two road closures, which were cleared quickly by SCDOT. There were only 100 reported power outages,” said McRoy.
