Columbia, South Carolina – A powerful line of storms is set to hammer the Southeast through midnight, with nearly 17 million residents under a severe thunderstorm watch stretching across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.
According to the National Weather Service in Columbia, the watch remains in effect until 12:00 a.m. EDT Thursday and includes cities like Charlotte, Columbia, Augusta, and Raleigh. The primary threats include damaging wind gusts up to 75 mph, isolated hail up to ping-pong ball size, and frequent cloud-to-ground lightning.
The watch spans a wide corridor from Atlanta to Wilmington, placing over 3,900 schools and 279 hospitals at risk. Urban areas including Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and Fayetteville should prepare for brief power outages, downed trees, and dangerous travel conditions—especially on I-20, I-26, and I-77…