Flash flood watch issued for central SC. Another disturbance forming in the tropics
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch until midnight Friday as heavy rains and thunderstorms are possible throughout the Midlands.
The agency calls for “scattered to numerous” storms producing locally heavy rainfall.
“With already saturated soils, flash flooding is possible, especially in the northern Midlands and Pee Dee Region which has seen the most rain over the past week,” the agency said.
The highest chance of flooding in the Midlands will be around Kershaw and Sumter counties, the agency said.
A first wave of storms was expected Friday morning with a second wave rolling in late Friday afternoon into the evening.
The rain is flowing from the last bands of Tropical Storm Bertha, which reached landfall near Charleston on Wednesday morning.
Thursday night, the agency issued flash flood warnings for Sumter and Chesterfield counties, with Chesterfield closing several roads and bridges because of rising water.
Monday marks the beginning of the hurricane season. And the National Hurricane Center is monitoring another disturbance for possible development in the tropics.
The disturbance is several hundred miles east-southeast of Bermuda and is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be more active than usual, according to an outlook released Thursday by the National Weather Service’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
The agency predicts 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes and three to six major hurricanes. The forecast is above the 30-year average of 13 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.