The storm uprooted a large oak at Laurens and College streets just outside Five Points. (Photo by Eileen Waddell/Carolina News and Reporter)
Storms moved through the Midlands early Wednesday morning, bringing fallen trees and power outages.
A severe thunderstorm warning was in place in Lexington and Richland counties and parts of Calhoun County until 6:30 a.m., said Chris Landolfi, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Columbia.
The most damage from the storm came in downtown Columbia, where storms moved in shortly before 5:30 a.m., Landolfi said.
By 6 a.m., at the height of the outages, around 8,000 customers were without power in the Columbia area, said Matt Long, spokesperson for Dominion Energy. Long said the leading cause for outages are fallen trees and limbs.
“Most of the reports that we got were trees falling, a couple of power lines that fell, and then there were a few reports of trees that fell on some residences, too,” Landolfi said.
Large fallen trees were blocking streets in downtown neighborhoods, where workers were cleaning up the trees and limbs by the morning rush hour.
Four people were displaced from their home after a tree fell and collapsed the roof in north Columbia on Barhamville Road, said Michael DeSumma, public information officer for Columbia Fire Department.
A large tree and half of another tree fell in front of the Capstone dormitory on USC’s campus. None of the trees in the Horseshoe were affected.
Other reports of minor storm damage came in from West Columbia in Lexington County.
Jessica Imbimbo, public information officer for Lexington County, said the county’s emergency manager confirmed that no major damage had been reported.
“There have been a few downed trees and power lines but nothing more significant,” Imbimbo said in an email.
Around 10:30 a.m., more than 1,000 Dominion customers across the state were still without power, mostly in the Midlands. By 11:30 a.m., that number dropped to around 600. Around 300 customers are still without power in the Columbia area as of 12:30 p.m.
Duke Energy’s power outage map showed 154 customers near Anderson, 571 customers near North Fort Mill and 98 customers in northern Spartanburg County without power around 12:30 p.m.
The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina reported 283 customers without power around 12:30 p.m., mostly in Kershaw County.
Check Dominion Energy’s power outage map for updates in the Midlands.
The top of a large oak tree barely missed a parked car when it fell along Marion Street near USC. (Photo by Eileen Waddell/Carolina News and Reporter)
A fallen tree in front of the Capstone dormitory on USC’s campus (Photo by Lauren Larsen/Carolina News and Reporter)
Crews work just before 9 a.m. to clear a fallen tree that was blocking Pendleton Street just outside Five Points. (Photo by Eileen Waddell/Carolina News and Reporter)
Residents of The Station at Five Points woke to find they were without power and couldn’t access the apartment building’s parking garage after a tree fell across the entrance. (Stephen Enright Jr./Carolina News and Reporter)
