Midlands will see minor impact from Hurricane Isaias, latest forecast says
Central South Carolina including Lexington and Columbia are likely to feel “minor impacts” from Hurricane Isaias, according to the National Weather Service.
In the weather service’s update at noon Saturday, forecasters predicted the storm will affect the Midlands on Sunday night into Monday. Hurricane Isaias may downgrade to a tropical depression by the time it hits South Carolina.
The storm may drop two to three inches of heavy rain on the eastern Midlands, including Orangeburg and nearby counties. Further inland in Richland and Lexington counties forecasters expect one to two inches of rain.
The Midland may be hit with tropical storm force winds of 39 miles per hour or more, the weather service said.
Forecasters are more confident that the path of the storm is leading it to South Carolina though the storm is predicted to weaken by the time it arrives.
Hurricane Isaias is currently a category 1 hurricane located 40 miles west-southwest of Nassau, Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Isaias is expected to remain a hurricane as it nears the southeast coast of Florida on Saturday and Sunday.
Forecasters predict the storm will weaken to a tropical storm as it tracks north-northeastward along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Monday and Monday night.
The S.C. Emergency Management Division is urging people to review their own safety plans and consider what they would need to do if the storm threatens the state. That includes making sure people have enough water and food to sustain themselves for three days, the division said in a news release Friday.