Flash flood advisory issued in Lee, Clarendon and Sumter Counties

A flash-flood warning was issued Thursday for the Midlands and heavy rain is expected to continue during the next couple of days, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms, possibly severe at times, on Friday, and rain again on Saturday.

On Thursday, 1.63 inches fell in Columbia in just under two hours. Motorists drove through fast-moving waters in several places across the Midlands during the lunchtime rush.

In Columbia, drivers were urged to avoid roads prone to flooding such as those in Five Points as well as Whaley Street. Parts of Gervais Street, Millwood Avenue, Trenholm Road and Huger Street near Olympia Avenue had standing water on them Thursday afternoon.

South Carolina Electric & Gas’s outage maps showed several power outages from the storm throughout the Columbia area, which affected some downtown traffic lights.

Columbia officials on Thursday also issued a sewage system overflow warning for some customers near Pine Grove Court and Blossom Street, near Maxcy Gregg Park.

The sewage system also overflowed, city officials said, at 1101 Harden St., 3616 Edmond Ave., 3123 Harrison Road, 1721 West Buchanan Drive, 714 Santee Ave., 100 Westwood Ave., 1025 Huger St. and 5081 Brickyard Road. The spills went into Smith, Penn and Rocky branches. The spill at Huger Street, however, went into the Congaree River.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 1:34 PM.