Severe weather, possible tornadoes could ring in the new year in the Midlands
2021 could start exactly how anyone reeling from the past year feared it might — with severe weather, including tornadoes.
The forecast for the Midlands on Jan. 1 shows the potential for severe weather, according to the National Weather Service office in Columbia.
In addition to heavy rain and thunderstorms, damaging wind gusts over 60 mph and isolated tornadoes are possible across the Midlands on Friday, National Weather Service meteorologists said in a Wednesday morning briefing.
A line of showers and thunderstorms is forecast to move across the area — including in Richland, Lexington, and all other Midlands counties — ahead of a strong cold front, meteorologists said.
The exact timing of the severe weather is uncertain, but the greatest threat will be during the evening, according to the briefing. The timing and continued chances for severe weather should become clearer over the next couple days.
The forecast could continue to change, as the likelihood of severe weather shifted from slight to marginal in the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
The worst of the storms could cause considerable damage to trees and branches, which creates the possibility of downed power lines. Structures such as mobile homes, roofs, outbuildings, and vehicles would also be under siege in a tornado.
As of Wednesday, the forecast shows there is a 70 percent chance of precipitation on New Year’s Day, which is expected to be mostly cloudy. The potential for showers and thunderstorms increases after 1 p.m., and are expected to be a possibility until 1 a.m., according to the forecast.
There is no chance for snow, as temperatures will soar ahead of the cold front. It’s expected to be in the 70s during the day on Friday and, as it continues to rain overnight, the predicted low is 61 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures will begin to cool over the weekend, with a possible high of 71 degrees on Saturday before dropping to the 50s on Sunday and Monday, according to the forecast.
In 2020, the Columbia area was affected by several severe storms. At one point many were powerful hurricanes including Delta and Zeta in October, Sally in September and Laura in late August. Tropical Storm Isaias also dumped significant rainfall as it rumbled through the region at the beginning of August.
In April, at least 20 tornadoes hit South Carolina in a massive storm that caused nine deaths and more injuries, in addition to damaged and destroyed property.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 2:34 PM.
