LIVE UPDATES: 14 tornado warnings issued across 8 counties in viewing area

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Follow this story for live updates as Hurricane Helene leaves impacts on the Grand Strand and Pee Dee.

NOON FRIDAY

14 tornado warnings were issued across News13’s viewing area, which includes Horry, Florence, Marion, Darlington, Marlboro and Dillon counties in South Carolina, as well as Robeson and Scotland counties in North Carolina, according to meteorologist Scotty Powell.

10:45 A.M. FRIDAY

Here are power outage numbers across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee:

• Horry Electric – 7,141 customers out of 96,731

SANTEE COOPER

• Horry County, 237 customers out of 180,361
• Georgetown County, 732 customers out of 23,720

DUKE ENERGY

• Robeson County, 4,483 customers out of 25,120
• Scotland County, 99 customers out of 6,218
• Darlinton County, 1,068 customers out of 21,377
• Dillon County, 1,523 customers out of 10,439
• Florence County, 1,648 customers out of 55,671
• Georgetown County 750 customers out of 1,671
• Horry County,183 customers out of 1,711
• Marion County, 1,789 customers out of 78,907
• Marlboro County, 274 customers out of 4,445

10:25 A.M. FRIDAY

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster will hold a briefing at 2 p.m. with state emergency management officials to update the public on the state’s response to Tropical Storm Helene.

9:40 A.M. FRIDAY

Horry County Fire Rescue is responding to “several” weather-related calls on Friday, the department said. There are many reports of trees and utility lines down as a result.

“Never attempt to drive over downed lines or trees,” HCFR urged on Facebook. Just like flooded roadways, go the way you came, a safer option.”

9:40 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning has been issued for Loris and Tabor City, North Carolina, until 10 a.m.

9:20 A.M. FRIDAY

Myrtle Beach and Longs are under a tornado warning until 9:45 a.m., the National Weather Service said.

9 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning has been issued for several parts of Robeson County including Maxton, Pembroke and Fairmont until 9:15 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Parts of Dillon County including Lake View are also under the warning.

8:55 A.M. FRIDAY

Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach are under a tornado warning until 9:15 a.m. At 8:49 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Garden City, moving north at 50 mph. The warning area includes Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Springmaid Pier, Socastee and the Myrtle Beach International Airport and the Forestbrook area.

8:50 A.M. FRIDAY

As of 8:30 a.m., PowerOutage.us reported 3,951,749 million customers had lost power in the southeastern U.S. due to Helene. Below is a breakdown:

• South Carolina- 1,300.649 customers have lost power (out of total 2,895,201 customers in the state)
• Horry County- 10,641 customers have lost power (out of total of 258,166 customers in the county)
• Florence County- 5,689 customers have lost power (out of a total of 75,654 customers in the county)
• Marion County- 2,137 customers have lost power (out of a total of 83,119 customers in the county)
• Dillon County- 2,613 customers have lost power (out of a total of 14,920)
• Darlington County-2,287 customers have lost power (out of a total of 34,356)

8:30 A.M. FRIDAY

Reports say a tree has fallen on a home in the areas of Rosedale Street and Lee Drive Florence. No additional details were immediately available.

8:20 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning is in effect until 8:45 a.m. for northeastern Georgetown County and south-central Horry County. A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near DeBordieu Colony, moving north at 55 mph. The storm is moving toward the Litchfield Beach, Murrells Inlet, Garden City, Burgess, Socastee, Bucksport, Red Hill and Bucksville areas.

8:10 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado watch will remain in place along the Grand Strand until 6 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The watch area includes large parts of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

8:05 A.M. FRIDAY

Hartsville resident Karen Schenk says this large tree fell in her backyard at about 7 a.m. on Friday.

8 A.M. FRIDAY

As of 7:50 a.m., 3,747,363 million customers have lost power in the southeastern U.S. due to Hurricane Helene. Below is a breakdown:

• South Carolina- 1,157,261   customers have lost power (out of total 2,895,201 customers in the state)
• Horry County-  7,185 customers have lost power (out of total of 258,166 customers in the county)
• Florence County-  5,772 customers have lost power (out of a total of 75,654 customers in the county)
• Marion County- 2,065 customers have lost power (out of a total of 83,119 customers in the county)
• Dillon County- 1,519 customers have lost power (out of a total of 14,920)
• Darlington County-1,201 customers have lost power (out of a total of 34,356)

7:50 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning is in effect until 8:15 a.m. for north-central Florence County, southwestern Dillon County, east-central Darlington County, northwestern Marion County and south-central Marlboro County. At 7:41 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Marion, moving north at 65 mph. Marion, Latta, Sellers, Blue Brick, Oak Grove and Bingham are in the path of the storm.

7:45 A.M. FRIDAY

Motorists are asked to avoid the area of Highway 19 and Olde Forde Road near Conway because of a two-vehicle crash that has lanes of traffic blocked at this time. No injuries are reported. It happened at about 6:40 a.m., according to Horry County Fire Rescue.

7:35 A.M. FRIDAY

Here are the latest power outage numbers for the Grand Strand and Pee Dee:

• Horry Electric Cooperative: 3,977
• Santee Cooper: 977 in the Myrtle Beach area
• Duke Energy: Robeson County, 824; Darlington County, 1,102; Dillon County, 1,148; Florence County, 3,276; Georgetown County, 1,001; and Marion County, 1,027.

7:25 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado watch is in effect until 7:45 a.m. for southeastern Florence County, northwestern Horry County and central Marion County. The National Weather Service says a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Pee Dee Crossroads, or 13 miles west of Conway, moving north at 60 mph. his dangerous storm will be near… The storm will be near Pee Dee Crossroads and Brittons Neck at about 7:25 a.m. and Galivants Ferry and Rains at about 7:35 a.m.

7:15 A.M. FRIDAY

Below are some photos News13 Digital Producer Jordan White captured of Friday morning’s sunrise in Surfside Beach.

7:10 A.M. FRIDAY

Here’s a list of major South Carolina power outages as of 7 a.m.:

• South Carolina — 849,968 customers out of 2,895,201
• Horry County — 3,930 customers out of 258,166
• Florence County — 5,842 customers out of 75,654

7:05 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning is in effect until 7:30 a.m. for northeastern Georgetown County, southwestern Horry County and south-central Marion County: At 6:58 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Plantersville, or 8 miles northwest of Pawleys Island, moving north at 60 mph.

6:55 A.M. FRIDAY

Dillon County government offices will not open until 10;30 a.m., emergency management officials said.

6:40 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning is in effect until 7 a.m. for the central part of Georgetown County. The National Weather Service says a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Winyah Bay Entrance, moving north at 60 mph. The storm will soon be near Yawkey South Island and Winyah Bay Entrance and DeBordieu Colony.

6:35 A.M. FRIDAY

Power outages across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee are continuing to increase. Horry Electric is showing nearly 1,900 customers without power. In the Pee Dee, Duke Energy is showing outages affecting more than 2,200 in Florence County and more than 1,500 Dillon County. More than 1,000 in Georgetown County have also lost power. Across the Carolinas, more than 366,000 are without power, according to the utility.

6:30 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning has been issued for southeastern Florence County until 6:45 a.m. The National Weather Service says a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Morrisville, or 16 miles east of Kingstree, moving north at 55 mph. The storm is moving toward Hannah, Scranton, Stuckey and the Lake City Community Hospital, according to the National Weather Service.

6:05 A.M. FRIDAY

A tornado warning is in effect until 6:30 a.m. for parts of Georgetown and Williamsburg counties, according to the National Weather Service. At 5:54 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Hampton Plantation State Park, or 8 miles north of McClellanville, moving north at 60 mph. The storm was approaching the Sampit, Andrews and Warsaw areas.

6 A.M. FRIDAY

Duke Energy is reporting more than 113,000 customers without power across North Carolina; another 95,000 are without power in South Carolina, including more than 1,800 in Florence County.

5:40 A.M. FRIDAY

More than 1,500 Horry Electric Cooperative customers are without power as a result of two outages. One is affecting an area north of Highway 368 west of Conway; the other one is along a section of Highway 501 north of Highway 22. Horry Electric serves nearly 97,000 customers.

5:35 A.M. FRIDAY

There are reports of storm damage in the Pee Dee. A large tree has fallen and is blocking High Point Road near Hartsville. There are also reports of trees down in the road on Highway 378 west of Lake City near Highway 341.

5:30 A.M. FRIDAY

Helene has weakened and is now a tropical storm as it heads through Georgia and the Carolinas. As of 5 a.m, the National Hurricane Center said Helene had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as it moved north.

5:25 A.M. FRIDAY

Administrative offices in Lake City will not open until 10:30 am on Friday because as the effects of Hurricane Helene are felt across the region, officials said.

3:40 A.M. FRIDAY

After making landfall late Thursday night as a category 4 hurricane in the Florida Panhandle’s Big Bend region, Helene has continued its trek north into Georgia and the Carolinas. As of 2 a.m., the storm was moving north-northeast with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Grand Strand remains under a tropical storm warning, and a tornado watch remains in effect until 8 a.m. for Horry, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown and Marion counties in South Carolina and Robeson and Scotland counties in North Carolina.

6:40 P.M. THURSDAY

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for parts of Williamsburg County until 7:15 p.m.

6:10 P.M. THURSDAY

The city of Darlington has closed its administrative offices for Friday. Offices will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here .

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Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13 . He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of his work here .

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