Video Shows Tornado Throwing Car Into Another Vehicle

A brief tornado near Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday lifted a car off the road and flipped it into another vehicle.

Residents in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas are bracing for impact Wednesday night as Tropical Storm Idalia—which has been downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane—advanced up the U.S. Southeast Coast. In addition to risk of storm surge, strong winds and flash flooding, much of the South Carolina coast was also placed under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Wednesday as Idalia is expected to reach Charleston at around 8 p.m.

Officials at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Charleston confirmed that at least one tornado briefly touched down near the coastal city Wednesday afternoon. According to a report from ABC News affiliate WCIV, the small twister interrupted traffic in Goose Creek, South Carolina, just after 12 p.m., picking up a car that was driving on U.S. Interstate 52 and flipping it onto its roof before hitting another vehicle passing by.

A video of the incident was captured and posted to TikTok, and WCIV reported that officials used it to confirm the tornado status. The brief footage was also provided to WCIV and shared on X, formerly Twitter.

NBC News affiliate WCBD reported that two people were in the vehicle when it flipped over and suffered minor injuries. A spokesperson with NWS Charleston told Newsweek via email that no other twisters have been confirmed, although the team has received reports of "sporadic damage in several areas that aligned with tornado signatures on the radar."

Charleston County Emergency Management Department Director Joe Coates told NBC News earlier Wednesday that residents should "stay indoors" for the next 24 hours due to the tropical storm, warning that the tides could reach up to 8.3 feet by Wednesday night.

NWS Charleston also cautioned residents in a post on its X account at 6:20 p.m. that tides in the Charleston Harbor were expected to eclipse 7 feet within the next half hour.

Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend as a Category 3 hurricane at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Officials have yet to report any flood-related deaths or missing people, but as of 6 p.m., around 250,000 were still without power, reported NBC News.

Deb Soldatos, a Florida resident who has lived between Clearwater and Cedar Key for over 84 years, told Newsweek that Idalia was the worst storm she has ever experienced living in the Sunshine State.

"I didn't think we were going to make it through this one," she said.

"We are just scared," Soldatos added, speaking about the damage that was left from the storm. "All those buildings that you see, we support our entire community. We are all mom-and-pops, so if we don't get back up and running, there's families that rely on that."