Lowcountry outdoors: 2017 Tornado Affects Western Colleton County

Friday, May 5, 2017

2017 Tornado Affects Western Colleton County

Rural farmhouse near I-95 with trees down,
roof impacted, but otherwise OK

Three new power poles in place after storm winds blew

On Thursday May 4 at around 7 p.m. a severe line of storms approached the southern Lowcountry of South Carolina. A tornado warning was issued, and the same system spawned damage earlier in the Garden City area of Georgia, just South of Savannah. The storm cell raced up the western edge of I-95 and produced winds strong enough to snap pine trees, blow down power line poles, and otherwise cause havoc in a mostly rural area. Power outages were not widespread, as the path of the intense cell was not very wide, but unusual damage occurred in several places not far from the interstate. The National Weather Service confirmed on May 5 that this was an EF-1 tornado, and that it also touched down in Holly Hill.

Local farmers report many cow pasture fences down, and they are either moving cows into secure pastures, or cutting up large pine trees today in order to effect repairs. With between 1.5 and 2-5-inches of rain recorded in the area, farmers are also reporting that some equipment is stranded in the fields for now. After all, planting season is still underway!

To view past blog entries about weather click 2017 Barnwell Tornado - 2016 Hurricane Matthew - 2015 Flooding - 2014 Ice Storm Story - 2014 Ice Storm Photos - 2014 Drought - 2013 Wet Weather - 2012 T.S. Alberto - 2012 Storm Team 2 - 2011 Drought - 2009 Drought