I changed the title to reflect the occurrences of softball sized hail near Myrtle Beach, SC.
A few months ago, I decided not to do a severe weather liveblog until certain conditions were met, such as tornado outbreaks, abnormally high risk for severe weather, or hurricane landfalls. I noted that I reserved the right to start one for extreme cases, and I believe this is one of those times.
The Storm Prediction Center says that hail larger than baseballs (up to 3.5 inches in diameter) is possible across North and South Carolinas this afternoon. This has the potential to be a disaster for millions of people, so if you or anyone you know lives in the area, let them know to be prepared to seek sturdy shelter immediately.
Keep trolling, meta, political cheap shots and dickish comments out of here, the folks getting slammed by these storms appreciate it.
- Please visit Got a Grip's important and excellent diary on tornado safety.
- It doesn't matter where you live, you should get a weather radio.
- Help out those in need: American Red Cross ... Salvation Army
- If you text REDCROSS to 90999, $10 will be donated to the American Red Cross to help tornado victims in the south, and the charge will be added to your phone bill.
- From TexMex ... Shelterbox is helping our neighbors in Alabama after the devastating tornadoes a few weeks ago.
Here's the area under the gun for severe weather tonight, with the severe thunderstorm watch remaining in effect until 1100PM Eastern Time.
HAIL TO 3.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
2.00" hail has already been reported in parts of North Carolina west of Charlotte, and the fun is just getting going. There is a slightly less severe threat off to the northwest into WV, OH, and IN through the evening, but the largest risk will be in the Carolinas, which is why I'm focusing in this area today.
The tornado threat is "low" today, so we just have to worry about mutant ice cubes falling from the sky at nearly 100 MPH.
If you are under one of the severe thunderstorms today, go to the lowest level of your home. Very large hail can easily break through your roof and injure/kill you. Stay away from windows and doors, because hail bounces like superballs and can ricochet off something and hurt you.
If you're in your car, get out and go inside a building if you can. If you can't, pull over to a safe location and find something to cover yourself and your passengers with to prevent injury from broken glass and any hailstones that enter the car.
If you're outside, get to the nearest building if you can, and if you can't, cover your head with something and hope the hail core passes quickly.
I'll continue to update through the afternoon and evening (if I have time -- it's the middle of finals week, after all) as conditions warrant.
Updates
Update 1 540 PM Eastern
All times in updates are Eastern, for future reference. Here are the worst of the storms we have right now. Storm west of Charlotte with 2" hail, larger than golfballs. Severe t'storm warning for Burke, Rutherford, Lincoln and Cleveland Counties.
Tornado warning for North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach, SC right now. Possible tornado indicated by radar. Golfball sized hail also reported in North Myrtle Beach.
Update 2 553PM
Here's a live, high quality webcam of Myrtle Beach right now. This is a very nasty storm with a lot of hail and a lot of rotation in it. Tornado warning still in effect, and rightly so. Storm has a hook on it and looks really nasty. If you know anybody vacationing in the area, call them and tell them to GTF inside.
Update 3 612PM
Severe t'storm warning for Florence and Marion Counties in eastern South Carolina. Golf ball sized hail is possible, with quarter sized hail already reported. Hannah, Gresham, Kingsburg and Poston SC are in the path of this dangerous hail core.
Update 4 615PM
The storm in Update 3 is now two storms, each with the threat of golf ball sized hail. The second storm is the one on the eastern side, and now has a Severe T'storm Warning for Horry and Marion Counties in South Carolina. Britton Neck, Pee Dee Crossroads, Conway, Red Hill, Bucksville and Forestbrook are in the path of the large hail.
Update 5 628PM
Severe T'storm Warning for Greenvile and Spartanburg Counties in South Carolina. Severe t'storm up near the SC/NC line, moving southeast. Lake Robinson, Travelers Rest, Paris Mountain State Park, Taylors, Cherrydale Point, Greer and GSP Airport are in the path of this storm. Half-dollar sized hail is possible.
Update 6 641PM
Severe t'storm warning for Horry, Marion, Dillon Counties in SC as well as Columbus and Robeson Counties in North Carolina. Severe t'storm with hail to the size of golf balls about to cross the state line into South Carolina.
Here's what the storms look like from space as of 6:32PM Eastern, from the College of DuPage:
Update 7 653PM
Tornado warning for Gallia, Jackson, and Lawrence Counties in southeastern Ohio. Strong rotation detected by radar, moving towards Mabee, Gallia and Oak Hill.
Red denotes wind moving away from the radar, green denotes wind moving towards the radar. The green/red couplet close together on the top-left is the rotation spotted by radar, and it is all moving southeast at 25 MPH.
Update 8 659PM
Severe t'storm warning for Carroll, Floyd, Montgomery, Pulaski and Radford counties in southwest Virginia right now. Golf ball sized hail has been reported with this storm.
Update 9 705PM
Softball sized hail now possible in Florence, Williamsburg and Georgetown Counties in South Carolina. That kind of hail can and will do catastrophic damage to life and property. Yauhannah, Warsaw, Plantersville, Oatland and Andrews SC are in the path of this extremely dangerous thunderstorm.
Update 10 712PM
Golf ball sized hail possible just east of Greenville, SC. Storm is almost directly over GSP airport right now (hence the distortion of the storm on radar, it's right above the tower), moving southeast towards Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn and surrounding areas.
Update 11 742P
Tornado warning for Georgetown County in South Carolina. Very strong rotation on radar with a possible tornado moving east-southeast, towards the city of Georgetown. Baseball sized hail still possible with this storm.
Update 12 752PM
Softball sized hail reported 15 miles west of Georgetown SC, in the tornadic storm noted above in update 11.
Update 13 826PM Central
Tornado warning for Downtown Minneapolis and areas to the southwest. Nasty storm moving in.
Update 14 1030PM Eastern
Since this is still on the rec list (thanks, y'all!), I'm going to incorporate the Minnesota tornado threat into this along with the southeast.
Actually, heh. Just as I was writing this update, the only tornado warning in effect was cancelled. Hmm. That's a good thing, though. The only bad storm on the map at the moment is one in northeastern Tennessee, going through Kingsport and Bristol right now. Those in Elizabethton need to be on guard for very strong winds, as this storm is turning into a bow echo.