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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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North and South Carolina are now on tornado watch, as the National Weather Service (NWS) reports wildfires are still burning in both states.
Newsweek has reached out to the NWS via email for comment.
Why It Matters
More than 175 fires were burning in South Carolina on Sunday, prompting Governor Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency.
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Many of the fires have since been contained, according to a map from the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC), but at least two fires burning near Holly Hill and Horry County near Myrtle Beach remain active.
In North Carolina, there are at least six active fires, according to the North Carolina Forest Service's map. Most of the fires labeled as active across the state are less than 100 acres in size, though many are 0 percent contained.
What To Know
The NWS issued a tornado watch in effect until 1 p.m. EST for parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, including coastal areas and major inland cities.
The tornado watch covers several counties across North Carolina, including Wake, Mecklenburg, Durham, and Guilford, as well as coastal areas like Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties. In South Carolina, the alert extends offshore, affecting waters from Surf City, NC, to Edisto Beach, SC.
Several counties across North and South Carolina were already under severe thunderstorm warnings Wednesday morning, with two tornado warnings issued as a powerful storm system moved eastward toward the Charlotte area.
The system brought the potential for heavy rain, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes. Even outside of severe storm zones, wind gusts of up to 40-50 mph were expected, posing a risk of downed trees and power outages.
The tornado watch comes as the Carolinas continue to fight wildfires. One of the biggest active blazes in South Carolina is Horry County near Myrtle Beach and it is 30 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. On Monday, it covered 1,600 acres, but it has since grown to nearly 2,060 acres. SCFC Director of Communications Doug Wood previously told Newsweek that a fire of that size can take days to extinguish.
Wood explained that the SCFC was creating a perimeter around the fire, in which bulldozers remove fuels so that the flames can't spread. However, sometimes embers can travel through the tree canopy. The South Carolina National Guard was conducting fire suppression from helicopters Monday.
In North Carolina, the largest fire is burning in Polk County. It is 619 acres in size and 91 percent contained, according to the forest service's map.
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What People Are Saying
The NWS Tornado office wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday: "A tornado watch has been issued for parts of North Carolina and South Carolina until 1 PM EST."
The NWS office in Wilmington, North Carolina, in a special weather statement on Tuesday: "The combination of dry fuels, increasing afternoon SE winds and limited rainfall during the past couple weeks, will lead to continued dangerous and adverse fire behavior today across Southeast NC and Northeast SC."
The statement added: "The South Carolina Forestry Commission will continue the SC statewide burn ban until further notice. Please heed this burn ban and any local fire ordinances in order to mitigate any additional wildfires."
What Happens Next
The tornado watch is in effect until 1 p.m. EST. Meanwhile, the worst of the storm was forecast to hit the Charlotte region midmorning, with conditions improving by midday as the system moved out of the area.
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