COLUMBIA — Heavy rain on Thursday could break a long dry spell for the Columbia area.

While much of the Upstate enjoyed a particularly wet January, the Midlands was relatively dry. Columbia Metropolitan Airport was nearly three inches below normal for rainfall in the first 37 days of 2013.

But a low pressure system will pump moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico Thursday and early Friday, bringing up to 1.5 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The rain could begin in the morning, but the highest probabilities and heaviest rain is expected in the afternoon stretching into early Friday.

The showers should be gone by the weekend, with high temperatures Saturday and Sunday near 60 and lows in the upper 30s.

Joey Holleman