Car Accident Attorney inChesnee, SC

Memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be a gem with plenty of sunshine.

But first, there's more rain – and a lot of it – along with the possibility of thunderstorms to contend with, according to the National Weather Service at Greenville-Spartanburg.

In fact, the Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg areas could see at least 1 to 2 inches of rainfall through Thursday night, according to the latest forecast.

"The area should get at least an inch of rain from that system coming through on Thursday," meteorologist Doug Outlaw said. "Rain should diminish Friday and end in the evening, and then a dry weekend."

This week began stormy Monday, with thunderstorms, over an inch of rainfall and a 200-yard-wide EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds that uprooted trees and damaged roofs of homes along a 5.3-mile path near Chesnee.

Severe weather in SC:NWS confirms tornado in Chesnee, Boiling Springs area

After a cloudy and breezy Wednesday, rain should arrive late Wednesday night into Thursday morning,

The Upstate is under a risk for thunderstorms Thursday, according to the NWS. A large area from Texas to lower Michigan is under a marginal risk for severe weather Thursday.

Showers, storms Thursday

For the region, the forecast calls for an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday with a high near 81. There is a 90% chance of showers and a thunderstorm Thursday night.

A 70% chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm are expected Friday with a high near 79. By Friday night, there is a 30% chance of showers as the storm system moves away.

On Saturday, expect plenty of sunshine with a high near 80 to 82. Sunday will be sunny with a high of 84 to 86, and Memorial Day will see a high near 88 under a sunny sky.

More:What to know and things to do if you're headed out to Spartanburg County's lakes

Rising gas prices for Memorial Day travelers

Meanwhile, those traveling on highways this Memorial Day weekend can expect continued high gas prices, according to AAA Carolinas.

South Carolina's gas price average on Monday was $4.29 a gallon, 10 cents higher than last week and 50 cents higher than a month ago. Compared to last year at this time, it was %1.56 higher.

Gas prices reach record highs:Here's how to take a summer road trip without spending a fortune as gas prices reach records

Tighter supply and increased demand have pushed pump prices higher, according to AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Tiffany Wright.

For updated state and metro prices, go to https://gasprices.aaa.com/.

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription.

UPDATE: Eric Shawn Fetzer, 25, of Chesnee, S.C., has been charged with “destruction, desecration or removal of human remains regarding the body being placed in a barrel and dumped into Lake Thicketty,” the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 30 update. “Investigators expect to make additional arrests regarding this incident in Cherokee County in coming days,” officials said.

The original story is below.

A decomposing human body was found stuffed in a barrel at Lake Thicketty in Upstate South Carolina, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler.

Investigators have identified the man as 56-year-old Jeffery Sutphin, WYFF reports.

The body was found shortly before noon Thursday, June 29, in the Macedonia Community near Gaffney, officials said in a news release. Gaffney is about 55 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Deputies found the barrel near the shore and upon opening it found human remains. It appears the body had been in the container for a number of days,” Fowler said.

“Since the discovery, investigators were able to confirm late Thursday that the death occurred in Spartanburg County. ... I transferred the remains to Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger who will assume the death investigation as is protocol.”

A cause of death has not been released, officials said.

Details of how the barrel was discovered and who reported it to authorities were not released.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office reports it was located near the boat ramp off Trout View Road, a two-lane road that reaches a dead end at the lake.

An interview with “a person of interest” led county investigators to conclude the death happened in Spartanburg County, the sheriff’s office said.

As a result, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office has assumed control of the death investigation, while Cherokee County detectives intend to pursue “charges for the disposal of the body in Cherokee County,” officials said.

Lake Thicketty is a 100-acre public fishing lake that is open 24 hours a day, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. It is largely surrounded by forest land, maps show.

This story was originally published June 29, 2023, 6:30 PM.

Spartanburg School District Two and Chesnee High School have announced the hiring of Boiling Springs associate head coach Zach Baldinelli as the Eagles' boys basketball coach.

Baldinelli, 22, a Boiling Springs alum and former Limestone player, spent the past season as the Bulldogs' top assistant under Craig Martin and has been coaching on the AAU and offseason circuits since his was still a player in high school.

"To have the opportunity to stay in Spartanburg School District Two has meant the world to me," Baldinelli said. "I have so many ties to the Chesnee community, a lot of the faculty and staff, a lot of the kids. A number of the community members are people I've known for a long period of time. So it was just the perfect opportunity. I knew when it came open, I had to go after it."

BOYS SOCCER:Here are 23 Spartanburg area's top boys soccer players to watch in 2023

BASEBALL:Here are 25 of the Spartanburg area's top baseball players to watch in 2023

SOFTBALL:Here are 25 of the Spartanburg area's top softball players to watch in 2023

The first-time high school head coach plans to take a lot of what he learned under Martin this past season and apply it to his new program. To put it quickly, the Eagles are going to be flying.

"We're going to play extremely fast. We're going to try to get a ton of baskets in transition," he said. "Our philosophy at Boiling Springs was always that we're gonna be in your face, full court man-to-man defense, constantly running.

"We took pride in being the toughest and most conditioned team on the court. I think that when you are out of shape, all you're thinking about when you're playing is being tired."

Baldinelli replaces Andy Pitt, who according to Pitt had a 117-174 record in 12 seasons as the Eagles' coach.

Chesnee went 8-18 last season, including 3-7 in Region 1-AA and failed to make the playoffs, but with six of its seven top scorers returning, the Eagles have the chance to take a step forward in 2023-24.

Damaged rooftops, large trees uprooted and downed power lines – but no injuries – are what Spartanburg County damage assessment crews found Tuesday after Monday night's tornado that touched down near Chesnee.

"It could have been much worse," said Emergency Management Director Doug Bryson. "We are not aware of any injuries. We're very fortunate."

His crews are adding up the damage and talking with property owners to tally a storm cost total.

An tornado touched down at 7:10 p.m. three miles west of Mayo, said Doug Outlaw, a National Weather meteorologist at Greenville-Spartanburg.

Tuesday night, the NWS confirmed a 200-yard-wide EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds cut a 5.3-mile path near Chesnee.

"Trees were reported down, and there was a video of the apparent tornado," he said. "Then the damage concluded one mile southwest of Chesnee."

Severe weather strikes:Severe weather in SC: NWS: Tornado confirmed in Chesnee, Boiling Springs area

Reports of damage came from Parris Bridge Road, Casey Creek Road and Sandy Fort Road in the Chesnee area. Damage could be seen around the property of View Church on Parris Bridge Road.

He said a Weather Weather Service damage assessment team was near Charlotte Tuesday to look at storm damage there before heading to Chesnee later Tuesday afternoon to confirm the path and strength of the tornado.

The Herald-Journal depends on digital subscribers to help support our journalists covering Spartanburg. Click here for our latest subscription deals.

"They will look for a path of damage – where it starts and ends, the width and length," Outlaw said. "They will also look for rotation (for a tornado) as opposed to straight line wind damage."

The National Weather Service later confirmed it was a 200-yard-wide EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds that uprooted trees and damaged roofs of homes along a 5.3-mile path near Chesnee.

Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier said Monday night's storms caused scattered power outages, and power was restored to most homes by later Monday night.

"There are still some customers still out in North Carolina as a result of that system and our teams are working to restore service to them today," Mosier said.

Bryson said some homeowners in the Chesnee area reported roof damage and were already talking with their insurance adjustors.

"They had no power for a little while, but no emergency housing needs," Bryson said. "The cleanup's going to take a while. We're asking people to be patient."

Outlaw said the system that produced tornadoes had two major storm lines. The first one swept through the Upstate mid-afternoon Monday, prompting tornado warnings and watches.

The second line that produced the tornado near Chesnee came came through Spartanburg County shortly after 7 p.m.

In all Monday's storms dumped a little over an inch of beneficial rain at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

"It was beneficial as far as a drought situation that was starting," Outlaw said. "It saturated the ground."

Damage from 2020 Spartanburg twister:Feb. 6 tornado causes $26.7 million in damage

As for what's next, Outlaw said there is a potential for more strong storms and heavy rainfall on Thursday.

"Spartanburg County area should get at least an inch of rain from that system coming through on Thursday," he said. "Rain should diminish Friday and end in the evening, and then a dry weekend."

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WLOS) — Residents in Chesnee, South Carolina were reeling Tuesday after a tornado touched down Monday night.

Possible tornado leaves path of destruction in the Upstate; NWS surveying damages

At around 4:25 p.m. Monday night, the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch for parts of North and South Carolina. Just before 7:15 p.m. the first Tornado Warning of the evening was issued. By 8:30 p.m., Emergency Services had multiple agencies responding to the Cooley Springs-Chesnee-Boiling Springs area following a suspected tornado. Crews reported uprooted trees, downed powerlines and roofs being ripped off buildings.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday evening confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down near Boiling Springs on Monday, making its way through Chesnee.

DAMAGE REPORTED AFTER SUSPECTED TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN IN UPSTATE

May 24, 2022 - Drone footage of damage from a possible tornado that touched down in Chesnee, South Carolina on May 23, 2022. (WLOS)

Tuesday morning, Don Westbrook of Chesnee, South Carolina, told News 13 that he and his wife immediately went to the middle of their home when they were notified of the warning.

“We went to the closet got the door shut got set down and it hit. All the walls, all the walls started shaking,” said Westbrook. “We came out of that closet and if the whole place had been gone it would’ve been okay.”

The damage in the community along Buck Creek is extreme but thankfully there have been no injuries reported.

EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN UPSTATE DURING FRIDAY STORMS, OFFICIALS SAY

Local residents are now working together to clean up the damages in the rural farm community.

EF1 tornado leaves path of destruction in the Upstate; NWS surveys damages

The National Weather Service will be on scene surveying the damages on Tuesday after they complete their assessment of the damages done in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties. Earlier Tuesday, NWS confirmed an EFI tornado had touched down Monday in Mecklenburg County, NC and traveled into Cabarrus County, NC.

This is a developing story. Check back at WLOS.com for updates.