Severe Weather in The South Rises Again

I'm a Dixie resident at heart, born and raised in North Carolina, so I looked with interest into the severe weather that swept the region yesterday, which Southeast Blogger Frank Strait was covering last night. In Columbia, South Carolina, many spotter reports were issued from yesterday's thunderstorms. These photos of a wall cloud and rainbow were snapped by AccuWeather.com Facebook Fan Alex S.

The spotter reports included winds that gusted to 51 mph at the airport, and which downed trees and power lines. Flooded roads were reported, with 3.25" of rain in less than an hour.

The Rocky Branch creek at Whaley Street rose 12 feet (5 feet over flood stage) in a matter of minutes! (As Brad P. points out, there's been enough heavy rain for flooding all over the Carolinas in the last week).

I was sad to hear that damage was done by a possible tornado (to a subdivision and shopping center containing a Wal-Mart and Sears store - see picture) near Cleveland, Mississippi, but glad to hear that no injuries were reported.

It was a little ironic in that, while these storms were pounding the area, storm chasers were reliving the record-breaking Dixie April 2011 Tornado Outbreak on the premiere of Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers." All in all, over 80 spotter reports of wind and hail were received yesterday, mostly in Arkansas, South Carolina, and eastern Georgia.