Floods possible in Columbia as rainy conditions forecast for New Year’s weekend
Stormy, wet weather hit South Carolina on New Year’s Day, swelling rivers and prompting warnings about flash flooding during the first weekend of 2021.
An estimated two to four inches of rain were expected to have fallen on the Columbia area by early Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
A flood advisory was issued Friday for parts of Richland, Kershaw and Lexington counties. More rain was forecast for late Saturday afternoon and into the evening. Minor flooding was expected in the Five Points area, Maxcy Gregg Park and Rocky Branch Creek, the weather service said.
The weather service issued a flash flood watch for Saturday night for all or parts of a dozen central South Carolina counties, including Richland and Lexington in the Columbia area. Rivers that flow through the Midlands also were rising, with the weather service issuing flood warnings on parts of the Congaree below the capital city.
Saturday “afternoon is when we’ll have another big surge of rain, into the evening hours,’’ said weather service forecaster Hunter Coleman, explaining that low pressure would be moving through the area.
The National Weather Service had warned of possible tornadoes Friday for parts of western South Carolina as storms moved into the state from Georgia. But no tornadoes were reported by 8:30 Friday night and the watch was canceled, the weather service said.
Friday’s soggy conditions occurred on a mild New Year’s Day in which temperatures approached 80 degrees in parts of South Carolina, including in Charleston and Orangeburg. But in Columbia and other parts of the state, temperatures were 20 degrees cooler.
Forecasters in Columbia said tornadoes had been spotted Friday in the Macon area of Georgia. Downed trees and property damage occurred in several areas of the Peach State, the result of severe weather, Georgia’s CBS46 reported.
This story has been updated from an earlier version.
This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
