The Clarendon County coroner identified the woman who died after being struck by an airborne umbrella during strong winds at a Lake Marion restaurant Saturday night.

A night out at Driftwood Grill on Lake Marion turned deadly Saturday just after 7:30, when Clarendon County dispatch got a call that a woman was unresponsive after being struck by a flying umbrella during sudden strong winds.

When first responders arrived, they found 56-year-old Dana Weigner with injuries to her head and neck. EMS worked to save her life on scene, but the coroner said she could not be revived.

The restaurant, Driftwood Grill: Home of the Lazy Gator, sits near the Palmetto Shores Campground on Lake Marion.

Jacqueline Blackwell, the coroner for Clarendon County, said strong wind gusts were reported at the time and is now working with emergency managers to review official weather data from Saturday night.

“It was a strong, strong wind, like a microburst that came through and knocked not just the umbrella. It knocked all of the furniture and other debris came onto where they were sitting,” Blackwell said.

Investigators said Weigner was at the restaurant with her husband and other family members when it happened.

“It was very emotional for him,” Blackwell said. “I spoke with the owners of the restaurant, and they say all the family members were gathered there as well. They were there eating; they had a large crowd.”

Restaurant owners declined to speak to reporters out of respect for the family but did mention grief counseling has been offered to staff, family and the community.

In a post online they shared, “Out of respect for the family and those impacted, we ask for continued prayers, compassion and privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”

“This is not an everyday occurrence,” Blackwell said. “This is just one of those tragic things that happens.”

The Democrat wins come after last month’s Supreme Court decision, which reversed a decades-old precedent and ruled that the Voting Rights Act, passed during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, did not require states to create congressional districts that provided minority voters with the opportunity to elect candidates roughly in proportion to their overall population in the state.

• The South Carolina Drought Response Committee has maintained a severe drought status for all 46 counties.
• The state is experiencing its driest conditions in 131 years, which has significantly impacted farmers and crop yields.
• Spartanburg Water has asked customers to voluntarily follow water restrictions, while Duke Energy is adjusting reservoir operations.
• Officials state it will take twice the normal rainfall for several months to see a significant improvement in drought conditions.

The South Carolina Drought Response Committee has decided to maintain the severe drought status for all 46 counties in the state.

According to the South Carolina Drought Response Act, there are four levels of drought: incipient, moderate, severe, and extreme.

“You may see other indicators on the news, and there are other drought indicators there that the Drought Response Committee reviews and considers when making their declarations,” said Hope Mizzell, state climatologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).

However, the state’s is the official declaration, she said.

The Drought Response Committee on May 21 based its drought status off reports of near record to record low stream flows, declining groundwater levels, wildfire risks, and reports from farmers across the state regarding crops and livestock. These reports have continued in recent months.

“This just didn’t start in March, February, or even January. The drought conditions have been intensifying since last September. The precipitation deficits have been growing month after month after month, and these low statewide rainfall totals had been breaking records for eight months,” said Mizzell.

The drought conditions declaration has prompted Spartanburg Water to ask customers to voluntarily follow water restrictions from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., a request that went into effect May 22 at 1 p.m. Landrum customers were also asked to voluntarily follow the request, which included limiting irrigation on lawns and other vegetation on private and public property.

“We want to be good stewards of our resources and our local environment. We are luckily supposed to get rain over the coming days. The drought has really been kind of ongoing since August, September of last year, and so we just are seeing record levels of low rain,” said Jennifer Chandler, communications manager at Spartanburg Water. “So we just want to be mindful of that.”

SC experiencing driest conditions since record keeping

South Carolina recently experienced its driest conditions in 131 years of statewide rainfall record keeping. From January to April, the state only received seven inches of rain. The state received 16.3 inches of precipitation between September 2025 to April 2026.

Mizell and the Drought Response Committee are hopeful that rainfall in the forecast will ease drought severity. However, summer, when drought conditions typically intensify, hasn’t begun. It will take time for conditions to improve.

“It will take twice the normal rainfall, per week, for several months, to see a significant improvement in the drought.” said Mizzell.

The region is in the state’s top five driest year since 1962, when rainfall records at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport first began being recorded.

Drought is having ‘significant toll’ on SC farmers

South Carolina farmer are facing uncertain times, and the drought is another challenge that is taking a “significant toll.”

“They’re seeing wilting corn, increased irrigation cost, concern that their irrigation ponds are going to completely dry up,” Mizzell said. “They have a lack of forage for hay or grass for their livestock to graze on. They have low hay fields.”

Some farmers have had to stop growing cotton, peanuts, and soybean altogether due to a lack of moisture in the ground for germinations while others have reported to the SCDNR that the 2026 wheat crop is a total loss.

“We had one livestock farmer report to us that his first spring cutting of hay yielded 80% lower than normal. And the low spring hay yields will jeopardize their winter hay storage for feeding cows,” Mizzell said.

Impacts on farmers from this spring’s low hay yields will be seen through the winter and into the next spring season.

Is SC prepared for extreme drought conditions?

Spartanburg Water is continuing to monitor and evaluate current drought conditions. The water company, which serves 200,000 in Spartanburg County, is supplied by three reservoirs: Lake Bowen, Lake Blalock, and Municipal Reservoir #1, although it does not currently pull from Lake Blalock. In addition, the company is supplied by a treatment plant and Landrum facility.

Communications manager Jennifer Chandler said the company is following its drought management plan and that storage capacity across all suppliers is not of concern at this time.

“We are incredibly blessed in this region with not only our water quality, but water quantity,” she said. “I’m always reading about out west and the issues that they’re facing and whatnot. So yes, while this drought is troubling, with proactive steps ― constant monitoring, constant assessment, like I said, depending on how this goes ― if we need to move to mandatory restrictions, it would just be, like I said, mandatory restrictions on non-essential water usage.”

Non-essential water usage would apply to activities like irrigation, car washing, and not washing your dishes on a full load.

Chandlers also said drought conditions are unlikely to affect rates or surcharges for customers during mandatory restrictions, although customers who use water excessively during the event could be impacted. For instance, daily water usage for a family of four is 5,000 gallons a day on average. A customer who exceeds this amount under mandatory restrictions will be warned by the company before seeing extra charges on their utility bill.

Duke Energy said the drought is not affecting its ability to serve Upstate customers. Although the company is not a primary public water utility, it indirectly supplies water by owning and operating major reservoirs and hydro projects, which are used for power generation and drinking-water withdrawals.

The Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project, and related reservoirs like Lake Jocasee and Lake Keowee, provide recreational opportunities for locals, cooling water for Oconee Nuclear Station, public water supplies, and significant wildlife habitat.