National Weather Service’s response to unexpected 100mph tornado that hit Saluda County

Bria Smith
·2 min read

SALUDA COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) – A tornado with no warning hit Saturday in Saluda County. Wind Speeds reached up to 100 miles per hour in this area Saturday night.

Those high winds knocked down trees, like this one on a resident’s property.

“We knew there was a minor risk for severe potential, so we were monitoring for it. We had a radar operator, we had other people looking at the weather,” National Weather Service Meteorologist, Richard Okulski said.

But the main concern for people living in this area was not being notified ahead of time.

“We were looking at it, we weren’t sure if this was going to reach the ground. The signatures looked good. Unfortunately, we missed it, those things can happen even with the best of technology – what we strive to do is learn from it and do better the next time,” Okulski said.

So, it was to a resident’s surprise when they saw the tree in front of their home on top of their property.

“We do have, SCDOT has been out clearing some trees off the roadways, as well as our county roads and bridges department is actually up off of bridges road, actually as we speak clearing more trees off the roadway,” Saluda County Emergency Management Director Joshua Morton said.

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Meteorologist Richard Okulski from the National Weather Service tells me while this was a minor EF1 tornado, this could just be the beginning.

“We already had the significant event with wide-spread 50 to 0 mile an hour wind gusts and a few tornadoes on January 9th. So, this is the most active cool season I’ve seen in several years. So, yes the potential exists for more severe weather as we go into the late winter and spring.”

That’s why Joshua Morton says it’s important to stay up-to-date and informed on weather changes.

“We do have a massive cation system called “Code Red” you can register for it by going to the Saluda County website. You can also contact our office and we’re happy to help get you signed up for that. But that, along with the National Weather Service’s weather alert radios are the best way to be notified anytime that there are watches and warnings and advisories issued,” Morton said.

No one has been reported injured and no major damage has been accounted for.

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