Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
This home on Nick Street in Blackville was ripped from its foundation.
Straight line winds whipped through Barnwell County on Wednesday, Jan. 4, leaving damage as tornadoes touched down in surrounding counties.
“The weather service got here late yesterday afternoon and they surveyed an area they thought could have been one, but it was not,” said Barnwell County Director of Emergency Management Roger Riley.
The area in question was between Williston and Elko toward the Springfield direction.
“There was no tornado in Barnwell,” said Riley.
Although a tornado did not touch down in Barnwell County, the high winds left wreckage.
“Roof damage was the main thing,” said Riley. “In Blackville, I probably saw 30-plus homes that were missing some shingles or some tin had blown up on the roof.”
Riley also responded to a single-wide home on Nick Street in Blackville that had blown three feet off the foundation.
There were reports of a tornado south of Wagener in Aiken County, and three tornadoes touched down in Lexington County with one that traveled into Orangeburg. The last touched down in Calhoun County.
Trees, buildings, and the Old Cotton Pavilion in Salley were damaged in the storm.
