Why it took so long for snow to arrive in Columbia

It’s finally snowing in Columbia.

Wintry precipitation starting falling in South Carolina’s capital city just after noon Wednesday. The National Weather Service in Columbia also reported snow at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

Little to no accumulation is expected in the city itself, with snow forecast to last through mid-afternoon.

But why did it take so long to snow? Forecasters said colder temperatures just hadn’t made it to the area yet, even as precipitation had.

Just before noon, parts of Lexington also began reporting snow-flurries.

Light accumulations of snow are expected in the central portions of the Midlands, mainly around and just north of the Interstate 20 corridor.

Also, it was snowing in areas west and north of Columbia. The Rock Hill area is forecast to receive snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches.

There were school closings and/or delays in 25 S.C. counties for Wednesday, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division. State and county government offices in 15 counties were operating on inclement weather schedules.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Why it took so long for snow to arrive in Columbia."