April arrives with high winds, heavy rain, and more destruction for Baymeadows

Bad weather in April in and around the Baymeadows subdivision is becoming almost as much of a given as the tax deadline. For the third consecutive year, a terrible storm unleashed its fury on the subdivision in western Coffee County, damaging property, tearing down trees, closing roads, and knocking out power.

In late April 2021, a tornado barreled through Baymeadows, destroying the southern portion of the neighborhood. If you ride through the affected area, you can still see the damage. Last year, another storm came through. The damage wasn’t as bad but it was still scary — especially only a year removed from the previous storm.

Saturday afternoon around 4 p.m., heavy rains and high winds hit again. There were a few weather warnings but nothing hinted at what was coming. The rain and wind came in suddenly and did a tremendous amount of damage in a relatively short period of time. Winds topped 75 mph for a sustained period of time and rain (along with hail) fell by the bucketsful. 

Weather radar showed no rotation — the damage was likely caused by sustained straight-line winds and not a tornado — but that doesn’t take away from what the storm left in its wake. There were downed trees, broken windows, destroyed driveways, crushed boats, and hours-long power outages. Even as late as 9 p.m., portions of the road near the main entrance off Highway 158 were closed while crews worked to clear the road of debris and restore power.

It was another scary chapter of an ongoing weather saga that is becoming all too common not only in Coffee County but throughout the southern portion of the US. Volatile weather systems caused by clashes between late winter and early spring are to blame for the storms. 

Though scary and disruptive, the damage wasn’t nearly as bad as that of 2021. But it left its mark — another scar on a neighborhood that still hasn’t healed from the first one.