Weather Officials Confirm Tornado Touched Down in South Carolina

May 23, 2008

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Bamberg County on May 20.

Forecasters say the twister had winds up to 90 mph and moved from just north of Olar to near Ehrhardt in the late afternoon.

The storm also produced baseball-sized hail and did severe damage to homes, automobiles and crops. No injuries were reported.

The weather service received at least 20 reports of high winds and 35 reports of hail as the storms moved across the state.

The South Carolina Insurance News Service reports 2,000 claims have been made for wind and hail damage from the storms totaling more than $4 million.

During the storm, at least 15,000 homes and businesses were without electricity. By Wednesday afternoon, Duke Energy and South Carolina Electric & Gas reported less than 250 customers without service.

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