FIRST ALERT: Freezing rain and wintry mix possible Saturday night into Sunday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Heads up! We’re tracking the potential for a wintry mix to move through the Midlands.

First Alert Weather Headlines:

· Sunny skies and mild temperatures today with highs in the upper 50s.

· Heads up! Saturday night and Sunday are Alert Days.

· A Winter Weather Watch is in effect for parts of the Midlands late Saturday night through Sunday.

· A wintry mix is possible for the Midlands Saturday night into Sunday. Freezing rain is the primary concern for Sunday morning, then some sleet and snow could mix in with minimal amounts expected.

· Rain will be heavy at times with gusty winds. Around 1-2″ of rain is expected.

· MLK Day this Monday could feature slick roads early in the day. Morning temperatures will be at freezing. Highs will be in the mid to upper 40s under mostly sunny skies.

· More sunshine is expected Tuesday with highs in the upper 40s.

First Alert Weather Story:

Stay weather aware this weekend! We have the potential for freezing rain of around a tenth of an inch to a quarter inch of accumulation. This could lead to power outages and slick roadways.

Today will be quite pleasant with sunny skies and temps reaching the upper 50s. A small ridge of high pressure pushes east over the area creating the dry and nice conditions.

Saturday our clouds start rolling in ahead of our low pressure system. Temps are a bit cooler with morning lows in the mid 30s and highs reaching the low 50s.

Saturday night is a FIRST ALERT as our rain starts moving in from the southwest, and transitions to some freezing rain by the early morning hours. High pressure in the Northeast will provide cold air to dam up against the mountains. Moisture moves in from the southwest over the cold air allowing for our chance of freezing rain from around 3am to 9am. Around a tenth of an inch to a quarter inch of freezing rain is possible. This will make travel extremely hazardous and travel will not be advised.

We see a transition to rain and some sleet with a few flakes mixing in by mid morning and then heavy rain is possible during the afternoon. Around 1-2″ of liquid precip is possible with this system. The winds will be gusty as well with gusts up to 30 to 35mph.

High temperatures Sunday are in the low 40s, this is why we see a transition to rain for the afternoon. Showers should wrap up around 5-8pm and the winds sticks with us throughout the overnight period with gusts up to 20 to 25mph. Lows dip down to 32 Monday morning which poses a concern for some patchy ice on untreated surfaces. My thought is the wind and 12 hours of dry weather will dry off the roadways enough to limit this danger, but please still be on the lookout for a little ice!

MLK day is windy and sunny by the afternoon. Highs reach the upper 40s.

Tuesday morning is cold, with lows down to 26 and high temps reach the upper 40s.

Today: Mostly Sunny and Cool. High temperatures in the upper 50s.

Alert Day Saturday: Cloudy Skies. Increasing Rain/Snow Mix Chances by late Saturday evening/night. High temperatures in the lower 50s.

Alert Day Sunday: Cloudy Skies. Wintry Mix Likely (100% chance). Freezing Rain/Ice and Heavy Rain. Cold and Windy. High temperatures in the low 40s.

MLK Day: AM Slick Roads Possible. Mostly Sunny and Chilly. Morning temperatures in the lower 30s. Highs in the mid to upper 40s.

Tuesday: Sunny & Chilly. Highs in the upper 40s.

Wednesday: Partly Cloudy and Cool. Highs in the lower 50s.

Thursday: Partly Cloudy. A Few Showers (30%). Highs in the low 50s.

Copyright 2022 WIS. All rights reserved.

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article’s headline.