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Article published Sep 8, 2004
Tornadoes, flooding still loom

JANET S. SPENCER
Staff Writer

Tropical Depression Frances -- continuing to dump rain inland -- threatened the Upstate with flooding and tornadoes Tuesday, with a chance of more today.The National Weather Service's Office at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport estimated that the Upstate would receive 4 to 6 inches of rain from Frances.The Upstate had received about 3 inches of rain by 7 p.m. Tuesday.Dr. Venkat Lakshmi, a hydrometeorology expert at the University of South Carolina, said the forecast is not to be taken lightly."Especially in your area, which has already had a rain event this past month, you're up to your saturation mark. More rain will quickly transform into overflow runoff rather than can be absorbed into the soil," Lakshmi said.He said the amount could stress drains and cause flooding on highways and streets.Lakshmi said the threat of high winds uprooting shrubbery, utility poles and manmade structures was real."Water working on the exposed surfaces will then cause erosion and the flowing of sediment that can be destructive to yards and spill over onto highways," he said.Because of the potential for heavy rain, a flash-flood watch was extended until 6 p.m. today, said Joe Pelissier, meteorologist with the National Weather Service at GSP.Pelissier said several small tornadoes -- small in size and duration -- were reported Tuesday from Columbia through the central part of the state moving from Lancaster, Chester and York counties into Mecklenburg County, N.C.Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties were under a tornado watch until early evening.Reports of trees collapsing in the saturated soil and downed utility lines were not widespread, Pelissier said. Most of the damage occurred east of Cherokee County, he said.Ricky Peterson, director of Emergency Preparedness in Cherokee County, said two roads in Gaffney were closed Tuesday evening.Hyatt Street, which is a main entrance to Gaffney High School, was closed, as was Beltline Road. Peterson said it hadn't been determined how long the roads would be closed.By daybreak Tuesday, the remnants of Hurricane Frances had stalled at the Georgia-South Carolina line, causing stormier weather toward Charlotte as it progressed.Rain totals were not consistent. "Most of the Upstate has received more than an inch so far. Many places have more than two inches, and only a few places have reported three inches so far," Pelissier said Tuesday afternoon.But with the chance of rain by no means over and the bands continuing to bring periods of heavy rain, Pelissier said the worst was not over.Residents in Lake Lure, N.C., were asked to evacuate Tuesday because of flooding.Lance Cpl. Dan Marsceau with the Highway Patrol said a count of traffic accidents between 5 and 10 a.m. showed Spartanburg County had 28 -- almost three times as many as usual."There may be twice that many by now. But we do not have anything with serious injuries," he said late in the day.In Cherokee County, authorities said there were more wrecks than usual on I-85 with an area near the 96-mile marker causing problems for several drivers.Because the rain was predicted to continue into the night, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control advised owners and operators of reservoirs and dams to check water levels for the next several days."Reservoirs that have flashboards or valves that can be opened to lower the water level should immediately be lowered to provide additional storage for the anticipated rainfall," said Steve Bradley with DHEC's dam safety program.He also said operators were advised to notify personnel at a dam downstream that the levels were being adjusted.Bradley said this year's trend has extreme amounts of precipitation in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.Janet Spencer can be reached at 562-7222 or janet.spencer@shj.com.