BAMBERG CO. Sc. – Tuesday’s tornado is confirmed as an EF2 from the National Weather Service.

In a 2pm press conference on Main Street in Bamberg County, National Weather Service Coordination Meteorologist John Quagliariello confirmed a tornado touched down in the county with wind speeds estimated at 125mph.

There have been no reported injuries or deaths at this time.

“It probably touched down about 2:45pm, maybe a little bit earlier than that. But we will determine that a little bit later on,” said Quagliariello, “Trees on the outside of the track are leaning in or falling in towards the track. And that's what is called a conversion pattern which is what we look for. So we are confident that we had a tornado.”

Tornado sirens did not go off for this climate system.

Some residents had no warning.

“I’ve heard some people say they got warnings on their phones, and some say that they did not. We knew the weather was going to be bad, but as far as the warning goes, I think some people got no warning that it was about to hit,” said Susan Collins, a resident in Bamberg.

“I don't know if they have sirens in town, if they have them, I've never heard of them,” said Hert Collins.

With no basements in the region from water table levels, shelter was minimal. And the best places to take cover in a storm such as this one is to find a block building, or find a room with no windows.

“There's no shelter that's safe for a tornado here. I guess you just ride it out the best you can and find the safest place in the house and ride it out. There's not any basement areas in town for protection like that,” said Bamberg resident Hert Collins.

Another storm system with an enhanced risk category is on the way for Friday afternoon.

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