Thunderstorms drop hail across tri-countyBy Nadine Parks (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Severe thunderstorms rolled through the Lowcountry on Tuesday night ahead of a cold front, felling trees and power lines and dropping hail in some areas. 
Alan Hawes Jack Rider, 11, shows a handful of hail he collected in a neighbor's yard in the Longpoint subdivision of Mount Pleasant after a severe storm passed through the area Tuesday evening. Several people from Walterboro to Mount Pleasant reported what appeared to be tornadic activity, but the National Weather Service in Charleston said it had no reports of a touchdown. Nickel-size hail was seen in Dorchester County about 6:25 p.m. Ten minutes later, a North Charleston police dispatcher advised officers to take cover from hail. There were reports of golfball-size hail in Mount Pleasant at 6:55 p.m. Sightings of funnel clouds were called in at 6:38 p.m. in North Charleston and at 6:53 p.m. on Daniel Island. About 7 p.m., power lines and trees were down in several areas along Ashley Phosphate Road, including Stratton Capers and Windsor Hill. Firefighters had to cut a path going into the Windsor Hill community after a large tree fell across the road at the neighborhood entrance, Ashley River Fire Department Chief Scott Inabinet said. He said a tree fell on one house in the Dorchester Manor community and took off the front corner of the house. "Nobody was hurt," Inabinet said. "It's just all trees in the roads or on the houses." Some Summerville residents were without power Tuesday night. South Carolina Electric & Gas said more than 8,200 customers were without power in the Charleston, Summerville and Beaufort areas. While hail and high winds were reported across the region, there were no reports of any serious structural damage, said John Quagliariello, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston. Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postand courier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 16 comment(s)
Posted by auger on May 21, 2008 at 2:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Woo-Hoo! I got a couple of tons of short lived ice and a new tree in my backyard. Anyone else get any cool parting gifts?
Posted by luvmydogs59 on May 21, 2008 at 2:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I, too, got a crapload of ice. I also have a bunch of extra pinecones along with the hundreds of branches.
I had to go out in that awful storm. As if it wasn't bad enough, the minute I got in my car the hail came down like nobody's business. Just about golf ball size. Thank goodness it didn't do any damage to my car.
The weather is getting crazier every day!
Posted by ForPnC on May 21, 2008 at 4:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LOL Auger! Nothing like getting a new tree! Have you found out which neighbor donated it to you?
The worst that happened to me was my trees decided to start shedding their branches. I guess it's getting too hot for them down here.
Posted by LadyTarHeel on May 21, 2008 at 7:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I was on my way home from school on I-26 when the rain started. Got off and headed to my apartment and the hail started. I have never seen hail before and it was so loud. I hate thunder storms and I was scared crapless since I learned in High School that hail and high winds are usually an indicator of tornados. I didn't get any presents from the storm except some broken off branches. Auger, I'm so jealous. You got a new tree...man!
Posted by katrenavantassle on May 21, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with you ColdBeer...it was kind of funny to watch the weathermen with their adrenalin rush. But it wasn't funny when the wind and hail started pounding on my house in Oakbrook.
I was praying hard for any tornado's that could form to pass SC! My daughter was in North Charleston at work, and they had it worse than I did. The news said a tornado cell was at Charleston Airport and since she works close to that I was tripping out worrying. But all turned out fine in the end, Thank God. Seems we are having more and more tornado like weather lately...what is the reason for that??
Posted by Girleygirl on May 21, 2008 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I was scared as crap.....
Posted by hipchick on May 21, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
GirlyGirl: I was scared too. I have lived here many years & have seen hail only three times, twice in the last two weeks. I took my flashlight, my daughter & our cats to the closet!
Posted by LadyTarHeel on May 21, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wpc: I think Coldbeer was being funny. Even though I must agree that Global Warming isn't really as big a deal as some would want you to believe. The earth has been going though warming and cooling phases for forever, we are in a warming phase at the moment. Maybe in another 50 years we will be going through a cooling phase.
Posted by yougogirl78 on May 21, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We had several branches and lots of pine cones tossed around during the storm in Windsor Hill. It stormed twice after the BIG one yesterday evening. I saw on The Weather Channel this morning we are way above average for tornadoes.
Posted by commonsence on May 21, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We had two bouts of hail yesterday in MP. It's funny, I've seen more hail in the past two years than in the previous forty. Something is definitely going on in the weather. It's either a sunny day or severe weather. And I'm about sick of all the weatherheads hyping every system that blows through. They are crying wolf and someday when the big one comes through, people will just tune them out.
Posted by auger on May 21, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ColdBeer, you haven't seen the local media folks really freak out until you've been here during a direct hit by a hurricane. Just prior to Hugo making landfall in '89, Leslie Lyles was screaming "Get out now!" over the air waves. The only ones that didn't seem to entirely lose it were Bill Sharpe and Bill Walsh.
Posted by abitskeptical on May 21, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I just wish they'd tell us the facts, just the facts & let us figure it out for ourselves.
If I am told one more time by the weather person to "go to my safe place" in the event of a direct hit...well..."safe" won't be in the description of what might happen.
Do they come up with new meteorological terms every few years?--just to keep us on our toes. They were using a few I did not know this time.
It reminded me of a hurricane reporting a # of years ago(maybe Hugo-can't remember).
Anyway they kept talking about the "veederbans" & veederbans this & veederbans that. I thought it was some German term. Finally I blurted out "What the hell are veederbans?" My husband cracked up before he managed:"That's feeder bands babe".
Posted by LadyTarHeel on May 21, 2008 at 8:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
auger: Man I love Bill Walsh! He gives you the facts without scaring you. Or is that the slogan from channel 2? Oh, I get em confused, but I do love me some Bill Walsh. I have a small crush on Scott Williams though:o)
Posted by auger on May 21, 2008 at 10:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LadyTarHeel, Bill Walsh is the man when it comes to weather info in the low country. Never met the man but he is one of those people that you just know is one of the good guys when you first see or hear him. He tells you what is happening without causing any excess stress or fear. Can't speak to the love comment. As a rule, I don't have man crushes.
Posted by abitskeptical on May 21, 2008 at 11:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bill Walsh is a very good guy. I know him through my oldest son's friends who have known him since they were little.
Posted by palmettochik on May 22, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would just love to see these guys have to report on some REAL weather. Can you imagine how annoying they would be if they lived in Kansas? Dorothy would have wished the funnel cloud would have taken her away.