A severe thunderstorm barreled through the extreme northern portion of Cherokee County on Thursday afternoon, leaving downed trees and power lines in its wake, and causing brief outages in a number of locations.

There was also some localized flooding in low-lying areas and along back roads; however, it was around 4:45 that afternoon when the biggest report of damage came in – as a huge tree fell across a portion of Pleasant Valley Church on County Road 15, approximately two miles north of Blanche near Jamestown.  That tree caused significant damage to the structure and according to data from the National Weather Service, the storm front winds were in excess of 40 mph during the Significant Weather Advisory which had been issued for the area.

Fortunately, no one was hurt during Thursday’s severe weather outbreak.