Want a break from muggy, rainy weather? Look at this forecast for Columbia
After a soggy, storm-soaked week in South Carolina, the weather is expected to clear and cool off by Sunday, just days before fall begins.
The National Weather Service says central South Carolina should experience high temperatures in the 70s and lows in the 50s later this weekend. That will be the coolest the area has been at night since May, the weather service says.
Drier weather should continue through much of next week, said Doug Anderson, a forecaster at the weather service in Columbia. Tuesday is the first day of autumn.
“Look for the sun to return by late in the weekend, so get out there and enjoy it,’’ Anderson said.
The remnants of Hurricane Sally moved through Columbia at mid-week but were clearing out by Friday.
Anywhere from 3 to 8 inches of rain fell on parts of central South Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday, the weather service said. High temperatures were in the 80s and low 90s this past week.
The only lingering effects from this past week’s rain are swollen rivers and creeks that will continue to spill their banks, causing some flooding, Anderson said. Cloudy skies were expected to prevail through parts of Saturday, before the sun returns.
Typically, South Carolina is heading into a drier period of the year, but whether that pattern holds during the next month will depend on hurricanes.
South Carolina has been soaked during the fall in recent years from major hurricanes and storms, including a 2015 rain bomb that caused historic flooding.
This year has been a wet one in the Columbia area. The capital city has gotten 2 to 5 inches more rain so far this year than the area typically gets in an entire year, Anderson and weather forecaster Frank Alsheimer said Friday. About 45 inches of rain fall in a normal year in the Columbia area.
“This weekend does not look bad at all, with the remnants of the system well offshore,’’ Anderson said.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 12:55 PM.
