Power restored to many throughout Richland County, more storms to come

Power has been restored to many customers throughout Richland County Thursday morning but more storms are on the way Thursday evening and Friday.

At the height of the outages Thursday, South Carolina Electric and Gas crews, along with emergency personnel, were working to restore power to over 5,000 customers throughout the city before 10 a.m. That number decreased to just over 600 at around 10:30 a.m.

Several businesses in Five Points were also without power for several minutes, but power has since been restored to the area, according to Five Points Association Executive Director Amy Beth Franks.

Morning commuters are urged to use caution while approaching intersections as many stop lights are either flashing or not functioning. Drivers are also urged to be on the look out for any road or emergency crews working in the roadways while they clear tree limbs and other debris.

The storm Wednesday dumped nearly 2 inches of rain causing flooding in many areas of the city, according to readings gathered at the Hamilton-Owens Airport.

The National Weather service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Columbia, and other cities in the region, Thursday as more storms are expected in the late afternoon.

Thursday’s high temperature is expected to reach 93 degrees with a 40 percent chance of afternoon showers, which continues on to Thursday night. Friday also has a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms with a high of 91 degrees, but the chance of storms later Friday evening decreases to about 20 percent, according to the weather service.

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 9:53 AM.