Sorry, Columbia. There’s more rain on the way
The Columbia area is on track to record — if not surpass — the 10th wettest December in the city’s history.
This month, so far, the Columbia area has received almost 5 inches of rain. That is nearly 3 inches more than normal for December and, with more than a week to go, approaching the 6.45 inches of rain dropped on Columbia in December 2015, after that year’s flood, said the National Weather Service in Columbia.
December’s rain — compounded with higher than normal rain in October and November — has caused flooding in some parts of the state’s capital city. But coastal areas have been harder hit, as flooding has closed main traffic arteries, particularly in and around downtown Charleston.
Mike Proud, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Columbia, said Thursday the absence of a dry season, after Hurricane Florence slammed the state in September, has left the ground saturated, leaving any new rain to remain on the ground’s surface.
In October, the Weather Service recorded 6.39 inches of rain in Columbia, 3.22 inches above normal. Meteorologists recorded 6.55 inches of rain in November in Columbia, almost 4 inches higher than normal, Proud said.
“We’ve been running above normal for several months,” Proud said. “When you tack on all the precipitation from the tropical season (from June to November), it just compounds that effect, especially north of (Columbia).”
After rain expected Friday, Columbia should get a bit of a reprieve through next Wednesday, Proud said. “But, then Wednesday night and Thursday, it looks like we get back into the Gulf moisture and ready for another soaking.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 1:17 PM.
