Tuesday, January 31, 2017

2017 Tornado Rips Into Barnwell State Park

Twisted Pine Tree with State Park Sign
The weekend of January 21 - 22 brought a rare outbreak of severe weather to South Carolina, and I found evidence of the tornado that strafed Barnwell County Park. This state park is located in rural Barnwell County and is near the town of Blackville, and is known for hiking trails and woodland aesthetics. The National Weather Service has confirmed this was an EF-2 tornado that touched down, and while the track of the twister extended into nearby Denmark, the most damage was at the state park.

Roadside trees snapped off and strewn with debris
The National Weather Service (NWS) briefing to media that weekend included several noteworthy remarks including that there was a high-risk of significant severe weather - and high risk warnings are when long-track strong tornadoes can occur, and also when most fatalities occur. "A high risk is very rare for our area, ANY TIME OF YEAR, it is exceedingly rare and essentially unheard of for late January." The area of SE Georgia was hit harder during this weekend, causing loss of life, and S.C. likely just received a glancing blow, but it could be seen as another sign of increased uncertainty in weather patterns that can affect the Lowcountry in the future.

To view past blog entries about weather click 2016 Hurricane Matthew - 2015 Flooding -  2014 Ice Storm Story - 2014 Ice Storm Photos - 2014 Drought - 2013 Wet Weather2012 T.S. Alberto - 2012 Storm Team 2 - 2011 Drought - 2009 Drought

I saw trees down everywhere at the park
To view past blog entries about S.C. State Parks click on Hickory Knob State ParkEdisto Beach - Huntington Beach - Myrtle Beach - Hampton Plantation

To view past blog Field Notes click January 2017December 2016 - June 2016 - February 2016December 2015 - October 2015 - September 2015 - August 2015 - July 2015 - June 2015 - February 2105 - October 2014  September 2014 - August 2014 - June 2014 - March 2012 - February 2012 - October 2011 - September 2011   



A few power line poles were snapped off too

This pine tree appears twisted before toppling

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