National Weather Service says Saturday’s Storm was a Derecho

By MJ Kneiser, News Director for 92.1 WLHR

The National Weather Service says the storm that blew through Northeast Georgia and Upstate South Carolina on Saturday was a derecho (der-AY-show), which is a widespread, long-lasting windstorm associated with a fast-moving line of severe thunderstorms traveling over a wide area, says Trisha Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg Office.

Palmer said the storm was rare.

With winds blowing through Northeast Georgia at speeds of 60mph, Saturday’s storm caused thousands of power outages due to falling trees taking down power lines in both Northeast Georgia and Upstate South Carolina.