FIRST ALERT- Heavy rain tonight and Saturday could lead to localized flooding

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Heads up! We have heavy rain and storms possible Saturday and Saturday night.

First Alert Headlines:

• First Alert for Saturday with heavy rain and storms, around 1-2″ is possible with localized flooding as a concern.
• The heaviest rain happens Saturday morning and then again for Saturday evening with a small break around lunch.
• Sunday we have a 40% chance of showers and storms.
• Mid 80s Monday with a 40% chance of rain and storms.
• In the Tropics, We are watching Earl and 2 waves off the coast of Africa.

First Alert Summary:

First Alert for Saturday as heavy rain and storms move through the region. The Weather Prediction Center has the Midlands under a “Slight” risk of heavy rain and localized flooding.

Tonight expect showers to move from the south to the north reaching Columbia right around 9pm to 11pm. We could see some downpours around midnight and then heavier rain around 4am to 8am Saturday morning. Our first batch of heavy rain comes in the morning, we see a break by lunchtime and then our next batch of heavy rain moves in by the evening. Chance of rain is around 70% and highs reach the low 80s. We’re looking at around 1-2″ of rain with some higher amounts in thunderstorms.

A large low pressure system in Louisiana is causing most of this activity and we see it move to the north and merge with another low in the Midwest by Sunday. We still have a good bit of uplift in the atmosphere to warrant a 40% chance of showers and storms Sunday. High temps are in the mid 80s. The same goes for Monday with another 40% chance of some scattered showers and storms.

A cold front moves through for Tuesday and brings lower humidity levels. Lows are in the upper 60s and highs reach the mid to upper 80s. There’s a 20% chance of an isolated shower. Wednesday looks dry with mostly sunny skies and low humidity.

Hurricane Earl is moving NNE at 22 mph as a category 2 hurricane. It is expected to stay a category 2 storm until it goes into some colder waters and weaken. It poses no threat to the U.S.

A tropical wave moving off the coast of Africa has a 20% chance of developing as it moves over the Eastern Atlantic in the next 5 days.

Forecast Update:

Tonight: Periods of rain that could be heavy at times. Lows in the 70s.

Alert Day Saturday: Periods of rain that could be heavy at times and a few storms. Highs are in the upper 70s to low 80s. Chance of rain is 70%.

Sunday: Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms, 40% chance. Highs are in the mid 80s.

Monday: Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms, 40% chance. Highs are in the mid 80s.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers and storms. Highs are in the mid 80s. Lower humidity!

Wednesday: Less humid with mostly sunny skies and mid to upper 80s.

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