A vigorous low pressure system will move through the south this weekend with severe thunderstorms and flash flood potential. Rain is expected to first move into the upstate beginning Friday evening, and showers and thunderstorms will continue through Saturday evening. By Saturday afternoon, severe thunderstorms will become likely as the low pressure system approaches the state and that severe risk will continue into the evening until a cold front passes.
The Storm Prediction Center has nearly the entire state, in the SLIGHT risk category for severe thunderstorms Saturday, a level 2 of 5. Damaging wind gusts over 60 mph will be the primary severe weather threat, but isolated tornadoes will be possible. Flash flooding will also be a concern, especially in areas where heavy rain fell Wednesday, like Columbia where 2.68” of rain was recorded Wednesday.
Saturday night into early Sunday morning, the rain will end as showers move east into North Carolina, but rain totals will likely be over an inch across the majority of the state and could exceed two inches in the Midlands and Upstate. As the severe threat ends in the wake of a cold front, blustery northwest winds could drive temperatures as low as within a couple of degrees of the freezing mark Sunday morning.
