Tropical Storm Debby caused a tornado to form in Beaufort County early on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service verified that two tornadoes from Tropical Storm Debby made landfall at Moncks Corner and Edisto Island, causing irreversible damage to the local residents.

The first tornado, according to officials, touched down on Edisto Island and lingered there for almost ten minutes. They gave it an EF-1 rating and calculated that the peak wind speed was 97 mph.

According to officials, the tornado went 2.89 miles after coming ashore from the ocean close to the crossroads of Highway 174 and Palmetto Boulevard.

“There was a howling wind.” Tatum McDonald, a resident of Edisto Beach, remarked, “I was pretty scared.” “I didn’t know what was going to happen; the winds were crazy.”

Numerous beachfront homes as well as nearby businesses were completely destroyed by the storm, but one house in particular took the brunt of the tornado.

According to resident Wayne Williams, “We don’t even know where to start yet.”

For the past six or so years, the Williams family has been in their house on Edisto Island off of Fishing Creek Drive.

“Hello, this is Edisto,” Williams greeted. “The house has been completely destroyed. There is nothing left for us.”

“That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Williams stated. “It’s really awful.”

The Williams family has suffered more personal harm since their home is now covered in inches of water, destroying clothing, valuables, and other personal belongings.

“In that house, my two granddaughters learned how to crawl,” Williams remarked. “Down here, the boys and my oldest granddaughter also really enjoyed it.”

The William family is approaching the tragedy with optimism, stating that they intend to rebuild their house, which they have christened “The Marshmallow,” and make new memories there.

Tropical Storm Debby caused a tornado to form in Beaufort County early on Tuesday, according to the NWS.

The National Weather Service’s Charleston office verified Wednesday afternoon that a “short-lived” tornado was created on Lady’s Island early on Tuesday morning by Tropical Storm Debby’s strong winds.

NWS meteorologist Peter Muhlin said forecasters determined the twister was an EF0. In the agency’s current classification system, it is the weakest category and corresponds to wind gusts between 65 and 85 miles per hour.

One automobile and a garage roof were damaged by the strong winds that struck approximately one in the morning on Tuesday along Sams Point Road, splitting trees in the yards of the homeowners. This information was reported by The Post and Courier.

The tornado “moved rapidly northwest” through the marsh into a residential neighborhood after developing at 12:53 a.m. on Tuesday over Point Creek, which is just southeast of Lady’s Island, according to a NWS report that was made public on Wednesday night. Around 12:56 a.m., it broke numerous trees along the 500 block of Sams Point Road and down Holly Hall Road, then swiftly vanished south of Wade Hampton Drive.

The twister is expected to have lasted three minutes in total, traveled little over two miles, and produced peak wind speeds of 85 mph, according to meteorologists. Storm chaser Ben McHone stated that residents of two homes on Sams Point Road “reported hearing a roar” as it spun passed. Nobody living there was harmed.

Tropical Storm Debby was the source of four small tornadoes that the NWS has confirmed occurred in the Lowcountry as of Wednesday night. An EF1 twister that made landfall in Edisto Beach on Monday night caused “severe damage” to nearby homes and businesses, but no injuries were recorded.

Tornadoes can originate from tropical storms and hurricanes. Winds are slowed closer to the ground but stay strong at higher altitudes when a storm’s outer bands approach land. This discrepancy causes wind shear, which is a change in wind direction and speed at various elevations and produces the spin necessary for a tornado to occur.

According to the NWS, although tornadoes generated by intense tropical activity often pass fast, they “still pose a significant threat.”