Winter coats needed on New Year’s Eve in Columbia, where it won’t be famously hot
In spite of the name of the annual celebration, New Year’s Eve in Columbia will not be famously hot, according to weather forecasts.
Temperatures are expected to drop close to freezing overnight as revelers celebrate the start of 2020 at South Carolina’s State House.
A low of 35 degrees is possible in Columbia, according to the National Weather Service office in Columbia.
While the temperature is predicted to be cold, it will be a dry New Year’s Eve, according to the forecast. That is a change from a year ago when the weather was warm and wet on New Year’s.
“Expect continued dry conditions with high pressure in the region,” the NWS said.
The weather for the days heading to Dec. 31 will be wet.
There is a 70 percent chance of rain Sunday, and it’s expected to continue Monday when the forecast calls for 60 percent chance of precipitation.
But the rain is expected to clear as the mercury drops on thermometers.
No rain, or snow, is good news for fans of Salt-N-Pepa, as the Grammy Award-winning rap icons will perform at the free event that has been called South Carolina’s Largest New Year’s Eve Party.
Famously Hot New Year, Columbia’s nine-year-old annual celebration, regularly draws tens of thousands of revelers downtown.
The event will start at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 31 on Main Street, near the intersection with Gervais Street, in front of the South Carolina State House. It will run for about six hours and include a midnight fireworks display — hailed as the largest in South Carolina — and performances by multiple bands, closed out by Salt-N-Pepa.
The weather on New Year’s Day is expected to be crisp, with a possible high in the mid 50s before dropping to a low of 40 overnight, according to the NWS.
