Wet, warm end to 2015 in Columbia (updated)

UPDATE: A flood warning was issued Wednesday for the Congaree River at the Gervais Street bridge in Columbia. The river is expected to pass flood stage early Thursday and crest more than three feet above the 19-foot flood stage on Friday. Farmland and pastures downstream are vulnerable to flood at this stage. The warning lasts through Sunday. The Columbia region remains under a flood watch through Thursday.

The wet, unseasonably warm weather that has swept across the Midlands during the past three months will continue through New Year’s Day.

But winter-like temperatures will arrive after the calendar turns to 2016.

A new spate of rain triggered flood advisories along the Congaree River in the Columbia region on Tuesday.

The river near the Gervais Street bridge is expected to reach flood stage on Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service reported. The portion of the Congaree River south of Columbia in Gaston has already passed flood stage.

More water could be coming. Newberry County officials said Tuesday water was released from Lake Greenwood’s Buzzard Roost Dam into the Saluda River, which will swell levels in Lake Murray. SCE&G, which operates the Lake Murray Dam, is able to manage water levels and does not see a need to open floodgates, utility spokeswoman Ginny Jones said.

Another 1 1/2 inches of rain is expected to fall through early Thursday night just ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations, the National Weather Service forecast. Rain should end that night and into New Year’s Day.

Nearly five inches of rain has fallen in the past week.

Led by historic storms in early October, the Columbia region is set to have its fifth wettest year on record with more than 62 inches of rain falling this year, according to National Weather Service data.

The record is 70.5 inches that fell in 1964. A drought over the summer into early fall likely kept the region from setting a new high mark.

Still, Columbia has received 40 percent more rain this year than average.

As for the heat, December’s spring-like weather will continue for a couple more days.

High temperatures have reached at least 73 degrees every day over the past week, topping off at 80 degrees on Monday.

Columbia set records for high temperatures on Thursday, Sunday and Monday, according to National Weather Service data.

The mean temperature this month is nearly 12 degrees above normal at 58.5 degrees, weather service forecaster Whitney Smith said. Air coming from the Gulf of Mexico to the Southwest has heated the region, she said.

The warmer temperatures will continue through Thursday, with highs at or above 70 degrees.

On the first day of 2016, however, cooler air arrives to cap temperatures under 60 degrees. Highs will remain in the mid-50s into next week. Lows will approach freezing.

That’s a sign of weather to come, Smith said.

Cooler-than-normal temperatures are forecast for the first three months of the year – as well as higher-than-average precipitation.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 8:29 AM.