CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – People who live off West Cox Ferry Rd. near Conway reported damage from an apparent tornado Sunday evening. That damage came while News13 was broadcasting one of several live tornado warning reports on TV.
Several large tree branches broke off and crashed to the ground near homes on Martin Ln. Some of the branches crushed fencing. Siding was also blown off at least one home. People who live nearby on Weldon Lane also reporter tornado damage.
Two neighbors says they both got phone alerts at about the time the warnings were broadcast on TV. Windy Hucks said the TV warning helped her understand that a tornado could be headed in her direction.
“We we’re watching a TV show, and in the middle of that show the tornado warning came up and said to take cover, and our phones alerts also went off at the same time, and so we proceeded to do so.
“I got up, got my husband up, and I said we gotta go find cover,” explained Hucks. “It made me feel safer as far as trying to do something to protect ourselves.”
Across the street, Jessica Aguirre also got a text alert from a friend. She and her husband said they then saw a tornado warning come on the TV.
“So we ran to the closet and that’s when we started to hear it. You could hear the noise and the wind pick up a tremendous amount. So it was definitely an eerie sound,” Aguirre said. “[It’s] not like Oklahoma where you get those sirens or anything, but it was definitely nice to have those alerts though, for sure.”
The evening tornado warning came after several other warnings earlier in the day. One of those warnings was for the Allsbrook area of Horry County, and some people who live in that area captured video and pictures of an apparent funnel cloud in the area during one of the warnings.
Another tornado warning earlier on Sunday involved a waterspout that moved onto land. News13 was also broadcasting multiple tornado warnings on-air during that time, and the waterspout was caught on camera spinning over the water toward shore.
