COLUMBIA, S.C. — Thursday's severe storms are well east of South Carolina now, but the cold air rushing in behind the cold front is creating additional power outages and knocking down more trees across the midlands this morning.
A Wind Advisory is in effect through 7 pm Friday from the National Weather Service in Columbia. "Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects.
Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result, according to the National Weather Service".
Earlier Friday morning, more than 1000 homes in Richland County alone lost power due to the high winds overnight. Widespread wind gusts over 45 miles per hour were reported across the midlands including a 56 mph wind gust at the Columbia Owens Downtown Airport just before 6 am. Many of these wind speeds were higher than during Thursday's storms.
Winds are expected to taper off later in the afternoon, but can still gust over 40 miles per hour at times through the daytime hours. This is the result of cold air rushing in behind the storm system that brought severe weather on Thursday. Temperatures in Columbia dropped more than 15 degrees in just 4 hours at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport with similar temperature drops reported across our area.
Meanwhile, widespread rain from yesterday's storms will continue to raise river water levels through the weekend. Although only a few showers are expected on Saturday, water from Thursday's storms will bring river gauges up a few feet in spots with most rivers cresting on Sunday or Monday. The rivers may not have enough time to recede before more rain is expected.