COLUMBIA, S.C. — Winter weather is expected late Friday morning through Friday overnight. A period of icing from freezing rain is possible in the eastern and central Midlands, with a more limited area seeing some accumulating snow late in the day Friday into the early morning hours on Saturday.
On Early Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch for the South Carolina Midlands. The watch is in effect from Friday morning into Saturday morning. A Winter Storm Watch means impacts from winter weather are possible and in the forecast.
What to Expect
Light rain showers and mild temperatures are expected on Thursday as a stationary front slowly moves through the Midlands. Temperatures will stay in the 50s for much of the day under generally cloudy skies.
Early Friday morning, the stationary front will move off the coast and temperatures behind the front will drop below freezing across the Midlands. Dry air will initially move in so precipitation is not expected to be widespread early in the morning.
However, late Friday morning, a developing area of low pressure to our east along the stalled stationary front off the coast will increase the moisture profile in the atmosphere. This brings the chance for precipitation back into the area from late Friday morning through the evening. Temperatures should be near or below freezing throughout the day on Friday; however, warmer air aloft will limit the precipitation type to freezing rain or sleet for most communities east of I-20.
Late Friday and into early Saturday morning, colder air will wrap around the departing system and light snow accumulations are possible, mainly in the north and western Midlands. Although there is the potential for some snow, the greater hazard with this storm system is for ice in the midlands.
The Winter Storm Watch includes Saluda, Lexington, Calhoun, Clarendon, Sumter, Richland, Newberry, Fairfield, Kershaw, Orangeburg, Aiken and Lee counties in the Midlands. The National Weather Service expects ice accumulations somewhere in the watch area to reach up to 0.2" of an inch, which could create slippery roads and power outages and some snow accumulations up to 1".
