Threat of severe weather increases, forecast to hit Midlands tonight
The chances that severe weather will affect the Midlands has increased, the National Weather Service office in Columbia said.
Powerful and dangerous storms are expected to begin impacting the area Wednesday night, the NWS said in Wednesday morning’s severe weather briefing.
Severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flooding are all possible, with the most activity predicted between Thursday afternoon and evening, the NWS said.
The chances of experiencing straight-line winds and flash flooding has been elevated, the NWS reported. They pose the greatest threats, but isolated tornadoes remain a possibility in the forecast.
Winds are currently predicted to range from 11-16 mph, with gusts potentially approaching 30 mph, according to the forecast.
There is 100 percent chance of precipitation Thursday, and the thunderstorms are expected to be “numerous and severe,” the NWS said.
Up to three inches of rain is possible in the Columbia-area, with higher totals possible in the western Midlands, according to the briefing. The rain could continue through Friday morning, according to the forecast.
A flash flood watch has been issued for the Midlands, NWS tweeted.
The bad weather is part of a storm system that will move toward the Midlands from the Deep South and Gulf Coast, according to the briefing.
The threat of the storms prompted the South Carolina Department of Transportation to postpone road work on Interstate 20 in the Kershaw County area.
Even after the winds pass through, the threat of flooding will remain for days.
During the storms, heavy rains could cause flooding in low lying areas, or places with poor drainage, the NWS said. Swollen rivers could cause flooding over the weekend and into next week, according to the forecast.
These storms come after more than an inch of rain fell on the Columbia-area on Feb. 1, and a very rainy January. Nearly six inches of rain was recorded at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in the first month of 2020, which was more than two inches above the January average, NWS meteorologist Doug Anderson told The State.
A weather station on the University of South Carolina campus reported 6.12 inches of rain in January, when several “significant rain events” were reported, Anderson said.
All of that precipitation, along with a rainy December, has increased the chances of flooding this week.
“We have higher than normal flows and discharges in the rivers with all of that rainfall,” Anderson said. “The water tables are up higher than normal this time of year.”
After a possible high of 73 degrees Thursday, temperatures will drop significantly as a cold front moves through the Midlands Thursday night. Highs in the 50s are expected Friday and Saturday, and lows in the 30s, the NWS reported.
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This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 8:09 AM.
