Rare SC waterspout spins over Lake Murray. See the video
Amid the rain Thursday afternoon, a waterspout formed over Lake Murrary, a once in a decade occurrence.
It happened around 1:15 p.m., somewhere between Shull Island and Dreher Island State Park and lasted about 10 minutes. Multiple people managed to record the weather phenomenon and then post videos of it on social media.
“What a day! The largest waterspout that I’ve ever seen form on Lake Murray took place today, this thing had the potential to be a monster,” Tim Miller, a meteorologist with the University of Florida and former chief meteorologist at Augusta, Ga.-based WJBF, said on Facebook.
The National Weather Service says a “waterspout is a rotating column of cloud-filled wind that descends from a cumulus cloud over a body of water. They can last from 2 to 20 minutes and move at speeds of 10 to 15 knots.”
Waterspouts in South Carolina are more often seen on the coast such as one last September in downtown Myrtle Beach or in January east of Cherry Grove.
They are weaker than tornadoes. But weather service meteorologist Richard Okulski told the Charleston Post and Courier steer clear. They can still cause damage if you end up in the midst of one.
The weather service advises: immediately head away from it at a 90-degree angle. Never try to go through it.
“Fair weather waterspouts usually dissipate quickly when they make landfall and rarely travel far inland,” the weather service says.
Fair weather waterspouts, as the one on Lake Murray was, typically are 73 mph or less.
