Because of the threat of severe weather in our area, all Florence 1 Schools will close early today.
Elementary students will be dismissed at 12:10; middle and high school students will be dismissed at 1:30 a.m.
In addition, there will be no extended day program or after school activities taking place this afternoon.
All Darlington County School District schools will operate on a normal schedule today, Thursday, Feb. 6; however, all after school activities - including sports - are canceled.
Note from Ed Piotrowski:
11 AM THURSDAY SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE
FYI - I will be LIVE on Facebook at 1pm.
A powerful storm system will produce an intense line of showers and storms that will sweep through our area this evening and tonight. A TORNADO WATCH will likely be issued for our area later today.
TIMING
A few showers will move through the area into the afternoon but these shouldn't be severe. After 4pm, we'll watch for individual showers or storms popping up that could spin and produce severe weather. The main event arrives with a line of showers and storms this evening roughly during these times:
Pee Dee and Border Belt: 6 PM - 10 PM
Horry and Georgetown Counties: 10 PM - 1 AM
Keep in mind the line could speed up or slow down by an hour or two so be weather aware anytime this afternoon and tonight.
THREATS
TORNADO - The risk of a tornado is low. Typically, tornadoes that spin up in a line of storms are brief, but even those can cause significant damage. Have your weather radio on or make sure to download the Weather Authority App to receive warnings on your phone. Search "WPDE WX" in the app store. Once you have it downloaded, turn on location and notifications. Everyone worries about the low tornado threat (rightfully so), but don't take the threat of strong straight-line winds lightly. They can cause significant damage.
WIND - Damaging winds are our greatest threat. There will likely be many gusts that will produce damage. The risk is a little lower for the coast but a gust or two could still produce damage. Outside of storms, it will be very windy this afternoon and tonight with gusts around 40 mph. A gust of 45 mph is possible. The strong winds will continue into Friday.
HAIL - With the storms not building to great heights, it's doubtful they tap into cold air to produce hail.
RAIN - 1-2" of rain is likely across the area with the highest amounts inland. Isolated amounts near 3" are not out of the question. Any street or low lying flooding should be brief.
Expect only a slight chance of a shower Friday morning otherwise, it will be dry, cooler and still very windy.