Destructive tornado confirmed in hurricane-weary Abaco

#Marsh Harbour, Abaco – January 30, 2020 — An early morning tornado has ripped through Marsh Harbour, the hurricane-hit capital of Abaco island in The Bahamas and the shocking weather event was today confirmed by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology.

It is explained that the tornado was likely the result of a weak frontal system rolling off the Florida peninsula, moving south and over Abaco with its embedded thunderstorms.

The tornado, which overturned and smashed an unoccupied mobile home on Don Mackay Boulevard in Marsh Harbour, was described by one resident this way: “‘it sounded like a freight train!”

Media broadcaster and pastor on the island, Silbert Mills, reported that there were no injuries as a result of the tornado and offered that the weather overnight was uncharacteristic of usual conditions in the Abacos at this time of year.

“There was a squall line; I was watching it on my smartphone around 4:30 a.m. This squall line was producing heavy thunderstorms and strong winds and this is not characteristic as my weather memory reflects during this time of year, so we are having some changing seasons and times,”  said Mills in a Facebook live video post around 7 a.m.

The tornado adds insult to injury as Abaco remains in recovery mode following its deadly and destructive brush with Hurricane Dorian on September 1, 2019.