what's happening. the polygons you see in blue and dhe -- and they have just disappeared because they expired, the thunderstorm rn whattings. we now have a tornado warning in affect for sumter county, above sumter and up to dalzel. let's get my cursor and lee county and the northern fringe of the tornado warning and along the county line as you go across eastern lee county and down to sumter county. why do we have a warning? we don't have an active signature on these storms, but what we have had a history of, this was the case in downtown columbia briefly this afternoon. that's these weak and when i'm talking about a tornado obvious obvious -- obviously in tornadic terms, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 miles per hour and maybe up to a hundred in a few spots, but they have been

front. bishopville, you are next in line and hartsville, you are next. lee con -- lee county down to maysville and across 401. if you are in this segment, this section of south carolina now is a good time for about 15, 30 minutes until the worst is gone. it is along the front of the boundary to go ahead and get in safest possible place in your house. it could be the bathroom on the floor. if you have a basement, that's your best place. closet, bottom floor, no windows. if you are sumter up to bishopville, the tornado warning has been extended. this line has had a history of producing spin up gust tornadoes and it is moving to the east now at 40 miles per hour. tracking it we will start with this last frame here and drag

pull it out to 40 miles per hour. the time now 3:30 into heartsville within 10 minutes. into sumter within 15 minutes. darlington within the half hour and then continuing on to the pd and 4:15 to 4:30 this afternoon. let me emphasize this is not the type of tornado that will be on the grown very long at -- on the ground very long at all. it could be a couple minutes or it could be five to 10 minutes. the best bet if you live in that section of the state get in safest place in your house. >> ben, you is likely to continue for -- looking at the leading edge and the rear edge as it moves through we can see what it looks like continuing rain, but how far into it does it become a problem that will be a continued safety threat for people who are at this point -- >> let me break it down a few ways one more time, charles. the leading edge isright

those still in the path of these storms are sumter, maysville, florence and into the pd. it is now 3:30 and that takes us through 4:30. the leading edge of these storms will be well east of our viewing area within the hour's time. the threat is gone in that section of the state within the next hour. as we continue to the south we have another sector of this leading line of storms. as we track these and take them to the east at about 40 -- there we go. this takes it into orangeburg. orangeburg, you are almost due south of columbia in the next 15, 20 minutes. when you are over to manning, i mean you are basically moving out of the viewing area when you get across clarendon county. there is one more section we

here for the storms that are moving across waynesboro and eastern georgia these will be tracking into barnwell county and allendale county and southern orangeburg county over the next hour or so. you will be under the gun certainly at 4:30 and that could be possibly extended to 5:30 or 6:00 this afternoon. >> we are also getting more word about schools, ben. again, the concern about the kids being let out of school and that conditions that may not be safe. you could end up with the threat of a tornado and certainly high winds. we have word that dismissal is being delayed in middle and high schools pretty much until the weather system passes and the thrt has been deemed to be passed. elementary schools had already dismissed and we have word

that the buses are using precautionary measures. we got word from richland 1 schools that dismissal will be delayed until 3:30 which was about five minutes ago. the word on that, nothing further from richland 1, but we have seen a lot of that system that has passed through parts already. if they did dismiss at 3:30 and you can expect them to be home sooner keep that in mind. they may already be on the way, but that entire process has been pushed back because of the threat. the kershaw county school district is holding off dismissal of middle schools and high schools until the weather system passes through the area and elementary school students should be on the way, but may actually be delayed as school buses take precautionary measures on their way. we are getting scattered reports of damage. the official word we are getting from the city of columbia and the kershaw county sheriff's office is no

>> the number of accidents is normal. good afternoon, everyone. we want to give our viewers an update on some trouble spots right now because of this heavy downpour. it is only natural that we usually see more accidents. i will read off a couple to you happening right now. for those in garners ferry road area, that's richland county and lower richland county and that's been a real trouble spot for the last half hour or so. there at antioch church, the ame church is a trouble spot because of an accident. charles, we have one at the 112 mile marker and at 277 there is an advisory that is put into affect there, a flood advisory. they are warning you if you travel that area, that's the low-lying area. when we had the floods in october they had to close that road. i remember coming into town from blythewood and i had to go around that. it is not closed right now,

the water is starting to pool in that area. they want you to be careful. also o'neil court at park lane road. there is a collision there and there is a collision with injuries. langford road and rolling wood hills court. another accident at bush river road and i-26. another accident at u.s. 1. for those on u.s. 15 -- excuse me, that's u.s. 1 south at richardson boulevard. that's kershaw county. that is also an accident. kershaw, lexington, richland you have numerous accidents and that's one of the main ones to point out to you now. let me see what else we can find out. all of this coming from the highway patrol as we watch that line of thunderstorms headed toward the east. look at a couple more.

obviously with the viewers. let me look at one more. a few happened in aiken. we are looking at kershaw, lexington counties and that is expected to increase as more people get ready to head out and about. as i understand these storms are moving quickly so that's good news. >> and although any areas where you are -- where you have come to expect flooding, and especially this does seem to apply once again in the area of downtown columbia -- >> especially columbia's 5 points. >> we are likely to see it now. think about the low-lying areas where it always seems there is flooding. it looks like that's the case. and we do have a flooding advisory going on until 4:30 this afternoon. >> ben, was that an advisory or a warning this. >> it is a rn whatting. it is right there -- it is a warning. it is right there in downtown. that's because it hasn't rained more than a couple

but that's all it takes. then you are left with flooded streets and some flooding in the 5 points area. there is the radar and if you are just joining us, we have a tornado warning in place for lee and sumter counties. not because there is an active tornado on the ground, but we have had several tornadoes reported and funnel clouds this afternoon. they have been occurring along this gust front. the leading edge of a squall line that is moving across the midlands. it is moving east at 40 miles per hour and it is now headed right into bishopville. it is right into sumter and knocking on the door and now the eastern parts of calhoun county. you can see your times. sumter, it is on you. maysville you are there in five to 10 minutes and darlington 15 to 20 and then continuing on to the pd.

another one or two gustanados, tornadoes along fronts can develop. they likely will have winds 70, 75, 80 miles per hour. even without one you can get some straight line wind and you can get 60 mile per hour winds along this frontal boundary too. that's the biggest threat. you live in clarendon county and manning and all of central and northern sumter county andnd all of lee county. now is a good time to get in one of your safest places. if you have a basement, interior room, no windows, get in that safe place. the line will not last long. it will rain a lot in a short amount of time, but it is not going to last long. once the main line of -- and there is not a lot of thunder with it either. once the mainn line moves through, yes, sure, there is rain behind it. but nothing like this initial squall line. for those not in the section

segment of strong storms pushing now into parts of barnwell and bamburg and orangeville. these are the ones tracking for several hours. the threat to the north in the next hour or so. the threre to the south for the next two to three hours tops. then in downtown columbia they will take off the radar and encircle the area that is under the advisory. the flash flood warning and it is a bull's eye. it always seems to be. i have spoken with the guys at the national weather service many times because they are watching rocky branch creek like a hawk. they can see it going up fast. once it hits a certain point on the pole, boom, they issue. as quickly as it has gone up an inch, inch and a half, what is key is how fast it happens and it will come down just as fast. it is 3:41 and the warning is

and so after 4:30 anybody who needs to get down into that section of 5 points should be good to go. for the next hour you want to stay clear from that part of downtown columbia. >> and we are getting word from sumter county, the official word from the sumter county sheriff's office no reports of damage there. there are an neck -- annecdotal scattered reports. we have the word from columbia fire. also from richland county and kershaw sheriff's office. no damage reported just yet. the latest from sumter county as well. the storm is moving through the area right now. we will have to stand by on that. >> and moms and dads, if your children are not getting home when they normally do about this time, the reason is they are being held in some schools. like kershaw county school district is holding the middle schoolers and the high

land district one. other school districts may do the same thing. we will get that word out to you. they are keeping them at school and getting a delayed start for home just because they want to protect them and not have them on the roads. if your kids are not there yet we want to let you know. we have a live shot picture of -- where is this? >> bluff road. >> in columbia. >> and one thing also the students at usc were urged to take shelter as the system rolls through. if we look at the line and the progress of the storm it looks like that area of columbia it has passed through. but theord was take shelter at university of south carolina as a safety measure and we are also waiting to hear as far as other school systems who may beholding off dismissal. kershaw county schools actually had dismissed elementary students, although the buses were using

kershaw county school district middle and high schools are delaying dismissal until the situation has become a little safer and clearer on the roads. >> and lee county, ben just mentioned you are under a tornado warning and you are under that warning until at least 4:00. take note for those of you in lee county. go ahead, ben. >> if you are just joining us the reason you are under a tornado warning is there is the leading edge of the gust fronts and the squall line that has been moving across the midlands this afternoon. it has had a history and we had confirmed reports and pictures sent in and video sent in of funnel clouds and brief touchdowns in rich land county and lexington county. and so it is right along this frontal boundary that we have had these gust tornadoes. that's the reason the national

northeastern central county and central and southern parts of lee county. this right here, we will pause it on the last frame, this is the strongest segment of the storm. so south of i-20 and into ashwood. we will take you up to lee county and i mean if you had to pin . exactly where this thing -- pinpoint this tornado it is right there. >> let's give an update. kershaw county school district just sent word to us that their schools have now been dismissed at this point. they said thank you for understanding efforts to keep our students safe. moms and dads in kershaw county, your students have now been dismissed. >> and there is kershaw county. there is the squall line that had them under a tornado warning. there might have been. we just haven't had reports. now it is moving into lee county. lee county is under the gun

>> and south carolina national

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not working now. it looks like there has been some kind of structure collapse on great baptist church in lexington.

now. they received on an out of the gust front with the squall lines as it was moving through. we had another 30 minutes in downtown columbia, weed two inches and five points in downtown in less than an hour. theres a warning in the five points area, bus because it is flooding, it went up recall fast, and its going to go down fast within 30 to 45 minutes time you are good to go. for

away from downtown columbia, the heavy squall lien is east of us. we will still have periods of moderate rainfall for the next several hours, across the viewing area. another storm that we keep a close eye on, this is the leading edge that we track downtown for us. this one came out of kershaw county a very strong storm that is going through central and western parts of bishopville, acan long the north of i 20 and it will continue off the east at 40 miles per hour, and bishopville i will not be surprised at all to get some reports of damage there as well. not necessarily tornadic damage. winds of about 85 to 90 miles per hour, its a lot of winds, but when you're

e f 01, 2, 3, 4, 5, tornados that are like in mississippi yesterday? no comparison. they will do some damage for sure. even if there are no tornados here, the gust front can produce six miles per hour winds. maysville, and then continuing onto the pd, within the downtown within the hour >> we are expecting more on the grace baptist church, it has been damaged possibly by the storm, we do have reporters on the way to the scene right now. that being where a lot of that has passed already, and we are starting to see some of the damage that has materialized as the reports have coming in. we have been hearing some, and we want to hear what you're dealing with out there >> again, for those of you with young children several school district have been holding the

different, we are hearing from lee county schools, kershaw county schools, and richland county schools, some are getting on the bus right now, some are being held a little longer, for several of you your childrenn will be delayed in getting home, and the school will get them on the bruises and get them going as soon as they can >> in the case of richland we do have some determined delays, and the storm system having passed that area, and they had are trying to get the kids home safely as opposed to somee other systems where it is still ongoing, and keeping the kids in school lee county being one of them, and we are waiting to see when the situation develops and when it is safe to get the kids out on the schools. that the middle schools, and hey schools have started letting the kids go home, so that process is underway, and has been pushed

programs for richland one have been delayed by an hour, for your children staying normally after school, they are on a one1 hour delay, so the fifth 30 to 5:45 dismissal- that is what it will be for the elementary school and that is for the after school program, and the after school program for middle and high schoolers will be 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.,s and i want to let you know as we keep an eye on the traffic this could be weather related there has now been an accident on columbia, on main street in the 6,000 block, so if you are able to avoid that area, that is the 6,000 block of north main street a collision charles just happened there >> not too hard to imagine, we've seen those rainfall numbers, but to see what it's like out to be in that, it does come up very abruptly and then all of a sudden y yr visibility does diminish dramatically, and you have been in it, it's like

your car, and if you're driving 25, 30 miles an hour, you are in a serious situation. be extremely careful on the road especially if you see some of these storms develop, and reduce that speed >> i am twitter right now, and retweeting a lot o o the pictures that are coming into us, so if you have any pictures of damage or the severe weather making its mark, go ahead and send it to me. dawndy, speaking of social media, make sure that you have our wis, weather app, we can pinpoint what you as a viewer want to see, i live in the blythewood, all you have to d do is go to the weather app store, it is free, now is the good time to have it in any case like this