The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a tornado watch until 1 p.m. Thursday for the following South Carolina counties: Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Calhoun, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Sumter, Union and York.
A watch means conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may produce tornadoes. A line of showers and thunderstorms will sweep through the region this morning, bringing the threat of damaging wind gusts and perhaps a brief tornado or two.
Safety tips and other important preparedness information can be found on the South Carolina Emergency Management Division's website. South Carolina will continue to monitor the forecast and bring you the latest alerts and developments here.
