Unbelievable Severe Weather! One Person Dead 10,000 Cars Damaged by Hail! 200k Lose Power (Videos)
White marks show hail damage on a vehicle at Maaco Collision in Greer after a storm hit Greenville County. March 22, 2017. (Photo: Elizabeth LaFleur/STAFF)
3-23-17
“It sounded like bombs going off,” Greer resident, Sam Manley said.
Severe thunderstorms that packed hail and lightning on Tuesday shattered a precipitation record, according to the National Weather Service. At Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, 3.9 inches of precipitation fell Tuesday afternoon, breaking the previous record of 1.79 inches set in 1942.
The storm left damage to vehicles and power outages at homes, traffic lights and schools in its wake.
From Paul Begley
“Hail Storms Destroy 10,000 Cars In Southern States Of America” 1 Dead
From MrMBB333
200,000 lose power/Relentless Golf Ball Size Hail Damages 1000′s of cars!/3 States
Weather extremes continues to intensify around the world, it doesn’t seem to be letting up, only becoming stronger as time moves forward.
A line of severe thunderstorms hit the US South on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, leaving more than 200 000 customers without power and at least one person dead. Baseball-sized hail was reported in South Carolina during rush hour, damaging numerous cars.
Some 230 000 customers were left without power Tuesday night in Georgia and Tennessee after a cluster of severe thunderstorms rolled through the region. Close to 40 000 were still without power Wednesday morning. In Georgia, one person was killed after a large tree fell on his home.
In Hamilton County, Tennessee, a home caught fire after it was struck by lightning but there were no reports of injuries.
In South Carolina, wind gusts reached 130 km/h (81 mph). Baseball-sized hail was reported during rush hour when thousands of cars were on the roads leaving work. WSPA reports countless cars saw windshields busted and body damage in Taylor and Greer area.
“It sounded like bombs going off,” Greer resident, Sam Manley said.
Traffic signals along E. North Street in Greenville County were out Tuesday. Students and teachers at Eastside High and Northwood Middle attended class without lights most of the day while Duke Energy crews worked to restore power to more than 1,300 customers and traffic lights on the Eastside.
The NWS in Greer had reports of hail as large as three inches, that’s larger than a baseball. Jeffrey Taylor, a meteorologist with NWS, said the reported hail was “about as big as I’ve heard.” Three-inch hail was seen a half mile south of GSP, where the NWS offices are located.
NWS put out a severe thunderstorm warning Tuesday afternoon ahead of the storms. Taylor said warnings mean a storm could contain hail at least one inch in diameter or wind with speeds of 58 miles per hour or greater.
Taylor said some vehicles parked at the NWS office sustained damage.
They’re not alone, hundreds of people on the Eastisde had vehicles damaged by the storm. Fairway Auto Body Collision Repair Shop in Greenville reported a high number of phone calls Wednesday morning due to hail damage.
Travis Whitacre, General Manager at Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting in Greer, said his store also received an influx of calls. Maaco was already working on quotes for a couple of fleet customers early Tuesday, though Whitacre expects customer numbers will increase.
“There’s usually about a week’s time frame in between when a storm happens and insurance companies get involved and start writing estimates and when we start seeing an influx in customers.”
For now, Maaco employees are fielding extra calls from customers who are calling for advice on what to do next. Whitacre said customers should get in touch with their insurance companies first. He said drivers should check to see if they have comprehensive coverage, which covers most or all of the cost of so-called “act of god” events that customers can’t prevent.
“Insurance companies understand that, so when you make a claim, they say that it doesn’t affect your rates or your coverage — It’ll be OK” Whitacre said insurance companies have contingencies for incidents like this.
Whitacre and other collision repair companies know one thing is certain after a big storm like the one that hit the Upstate on Tuesday, traveling repair people will come out of the woodwork – whether by looking to partner with local businesses or by directly approaching customers.
“The local population is going to get bombarded with people coming in to offer repairs. If you pay attention while you’re driving, you’ll start seeing them all over the roads with PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) on their cars,” Whitacre said.
He urged customers to do get the repairs that make them comfortable, but there is one big advantage to sticking with a local company. ”It’s a lot easier to hold a local business accountable for how repairs are done or not done. If you want to be able to hole someone accounts three, six or even nine months down the road, the local guys will be there.”
Whitacre advises anyone with damage to take their time making repair decisions — windshield damage should be fixed quickly, for safety reasons, but dents can be repaired just as easily in a couple of weeks when the rush dies down.
This is a developing story. Check back with GreenvilleOnline.com for more. SOURCE
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