THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408170415
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LEXINGTON, S.C. LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A tornado spawned by the remnants of tropical storm Beryl smashed through town Tuesday, trapping a couple in a caved-in shopping center and injuring at least 35. Two people were reported missing.
Forty to 50 buildings were damaged or destroyed, City Administrator L.C. Greene said.
``It came by swirling trash, metal, limbs everywhere, then it just stopped and then went on. You could see big old puffs of blue as it went through,'' knocking out electrical transformers, said Phillip Butler, a grocery store employee.
Gov. Carroll Campbell declared a state of emergency in Lexington County, and 100 National Guard police were sent to help officers in this community of 3,300 people about 10 miles west of Columbia.
A child and a man who had been fishing at a pond when the storm hit were missing, the sheriff said.
A husband and wife were trapped under collapsed steel beams and overturned display cases in a clothing store at the Village Square shopping center but were freed in about five minutes, sheriff's Capt. Larry Shea said. They were not seriously hurt.
Several other twisters were reported elsewhere in the state. The violent weather developed in spiraling bands of thunderstorms associated with the remnants of Beryl, which had weakened as it moved from Florida into Georgia.
Forecasters at the Norfolk office of the National Weather Service said the storm is likely to stay west of Hampton Roads as it moves northward today.
Other parts of the state won't be as lucky. Flash flood warnings have been issued for the western part of Virginia, where 2 to 4 inches of rain are expected, said Modesto Vasquez, a Norfolk-based meteor-ologist.
The storm should produce between one-half inch and 1 inch of rain in Hampton Roads today, Vasquez said. There is a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with highs in the mid-80s and winds reaching 15 mph.
There is a 40 percent chance of rain tonight with lows in the mid-70s. On Thursday the chance of showers will be 40 percent with temperatures again reaching the mid-80s, Vasquez said.
Meanwhile, tropical storm Chris, the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed Tuesday more than 1,000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. At 5 p.m. Tuesday, it was moving west at 13 mph, with winds of 40 mph. MEMO: Staff writer Jon Frank contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Residents inspect damage at an auto parts store in Lexington, S.C.,
on Tuesday. A tornado spawned by the remnants of tropical storm
Beryl damaged or destroyed 40 to 50 buildings.
KEYWORDS: WEATHER STORM TORNADO
by CNB