A strong storm system will be sweeping through a large part of the country this weekend. Severe weather will be possible in the deep south on Friday and significant snow accumulations are expected for much of the Mid-Atlantic and northeast Saturday into Sunday. Impacts to South Carolina's weather are likely to begin after dark Friday and continue through most of Saturday.
In the Upstate, precipitation will become possible shortly after dark Friday evening. Most areas will see rain, but a light wintry mix or sleet will possible at the highest elevations of the Upstate during the overnight hours Friday into the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. Significant snow/ice accumulations are not likely. By mid-morning Saturday, any winter precipitation will have transitioned into rain and will continue into the afternoon before and tapering off over the the Upstate and western Midlands later Saturday afternoon into the evening.
From the Midlands eastward, precipitation will be in the form of liquid rain. Rainfall rates could be heavy at times, and very localized flash flooding will be possible. Meteorologists at the Weather Prediction Center have placed most of the Pee Dee under a Marginal risk for flash flooding. In addition, brief wind gusts up to 30 mph are possible, especially closer to the Atlantic coast. Showers will end Saturday evening, and rainfall totals across much of the Pee Dee and Lowcountry could exceed 1 inch.
Conditions should be relatively quiet on Sunday, but by the early to middle part of next workweek, a more impactful system should approach our area. Our team will provide updates as details about the forecast become more clear.