‘Historic winter storm’ barrels toward SC this weekend. Here’s the latest forecast
Winter storm and extreme cold warnings are in effect in South Carolina as snow, frigid temperatures and unusual wind gusts are expected to move across the state Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
In the latest forecast, 6-8 inches of snow is expected to fall in the central-northern Midlands and 3-6 inches in the Central Savannah River Area and southern Midlands, beginning Saturday morning, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Rohrbach. Snow fall will be accompanied by temperatures lows of 10 to 15 degrees with wind chills dropping it even lower at -5 to 5 degrees.
“A wind chill around 0 degrees is not a common thing, and its own ways will be impactful for us,” Rohrbach said. “I grew up in the Carolinas, and it’s not very common to see very strong winds when we have snow. If you’re outside today, especially in the afternoon, make sure you cover up and don’t have too much bare skin exposed.”
The area of expected major impacts has extended further south with slightly higher snow totals expected, according to a weather briefing Saturday.
Forecast amounts would put this storm, dubbed Gianna, in the top 15 of snowfall events for Columbia since 1887, according to the NWS.
Wind gusts of 25-30 mph could cause the snow to blow and drift, reducing visibility on the roadways.
Extremely cold temperatures and wind chill values are expected to be the lowest Saturday night and last into Sunday, which may cause travel hazards to linger into early next week, according to Rohrbach.
In a “worse case scenario,” Columbia could see up to 9 inches of snow. On the low end, 3 inches is expected, although there’s a 90% chance of exceeding that amount, according to the NWS.
