Here’s when and how much rain SC Midlands should see from Idalia, latest forecasts show

Idalia strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday morning as it headed for landfall somewhere along the Florida coast Wednesday and will take aim on Georgia and South Carolina, hugging the coastline late Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

By the time Idalia makes it to South Carolina, it will be downgraded to a tropical storm, weakening as it passes over land.

The biggest problem for the Midlands will be rain. The weather service said during its afternoon press conference the Midlands should expect rainfall for 18 hours Wednesday to Thursday.

“We went from a drought in spots to too much rain in a week,” said Matt Gropp, the weather service meteorologist in Columbia.

The NWS expects heavy rain to begin around midday Wednesday, dumping 2 to 6 inches and may more in the eastern part of the Midlands. Flash flooding will occur. The ground is already saturated across the area from weekend rain.

The National Weather Service said high tropical force winds, gusting to 40 mph, may happen ahead of Idalia’s arrival in South Carolina Wednesday morning, but it is more likely in the evening..

The threat of tornadoes is low in the eastern Midlands, but still possible.

The threats to areas in the Midlands could change if the storm tract moves east of west. It could move 10 miles to the east or west., Gropp said.

Gropp also said the threat to river flooding during the storm is low but increase after the storm moves out not only from the storm rainfall but also from the rain not related to the storm that has fallen in the Upstate over the past few days.

Idalia is expected to have winds near 120 mph — category 3 — by the time it makes landfall in Florida, likely around the Big Bend area. The storm surge there could be 12 feet and the entire Gulf Coast could see a storm surge of 2 to 3 feet.

This story was originally published August 29, 2023 at 10:07 AM.