Flood Advisory issued for Bamberg County as Memorial Day storms continue

Drivers crossing low-lying roads, creek bottoms and rural routes in Bamberg County had to stay alert Monday afternoon as a Flood Advisory remained in effect until 5:15 p.m. EDT. The same advisory covered Barnwell County, South Carolina, and Burke County, Georgia, with showers and thunderstorms expected to keep building through the day.

The National Weather Service office in Columbia had the advisory active across its forecast area, and its Monday forecast discussion said Memorial Day would look much like the previous few days. Showers and thunderstorms were expected to become increasingly likely as the day went on, with unsettled weather continuing through much of the extended forecast.

That warning carried weight in Bamberg County, where weather history has shown how quickly water and wind can turn dangerous. The Columbia forecast office is responsible for 18 counties in central South Carolina and five counties in east-central Georgia, including Bamberg County. During Severe Weather and Flood Safety Week, the office and the South Carolina Emergency Management Division stressed that severe storms, tornadoes and flash floods are significant hazards in South Carolina and urged people to keep multiple ways to stay connected to warnings. Their plain-language reminder still fits a day like this: “Turn around, don’t drown.”

Bamberg County has seen just how hard a single storm can hit. In Branchville, an observer recorded 8.45 inches of rain in 24 hours on Oct. 11, 1990, the county’s highest 24-hour rainfall total on record at the time. Heavy rain like that can overwhelm drainage ditches and low spots long before a storm fully clears.

The county also has a recent severe-weather scar in Ehrhardt. A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF1 tornado there on April 5, 2022, with peak winds of 110 mph and a path about 3.75 miles long. The tornado damaged trees, sheds and parts of homes, but no fatalities or injuries were reported.

With more showers and thunderstorms still in the forecast, the safest moves were the simplest ones: avoid water-covered roads, watch for fast-rising runoff near creeks and ditches, and treat any flooded stretch as a hard stop until the water is gone.