Preparing for an Icy Situation

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — As the first round of moisture with snow, sleet, and rain departs from the area, Midlands residents are preparing for a more serious round of winter weather beginning Tuesday night. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning which will begin 7 p.m. Tuesday night through Noon Thursday. This is following a Winter Weather Advisory that has covered the northern Midlands since early this morning. A developing system near Texas is picking up plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico as it is heading east. This is important to note since it will be bringing in a lot of water and will cause a prolonged impact over the state. With a strong wedge in place, there will be plenty of cold air to cause a bit of a problem. There is a significant chance of freezing rain coming into the picture early Wednesday morning and lasting into Thursday morning. A revised ice accumulation total spreads from 0.25″ – 1.00″ across the Midlands, with the core area covering the central Midlands. The roadways are of great concern, but the power situation is also problematic. Even a little bit of ice can cause serious power outages. Today is the last opportunity to prepare before the freezing rain moves in. While we might see some snow initially because of the colder temperatures when this system arrives, there will be a slight warm-up midway through the atmosphere near daybreak that will cause us to see freezing precipitation instead of snow, and the freezing rain will only get worse through the day Wednesday. If you do not have to travel, please avoid it, and again, if you haven’t prepared for the upcoming weather situation, make sure to do so this afternoon. We are anticipating the weather to improve after the moisture departs Thursday morning. However, as power outages are likely to be significant, be prepared for a prolonged period without electricity. Make sure to charge up your devices and necesssary equipment, and remember to be smart about using generators and heaters as they must be used properly and safely. As always, you can stay tuned to ABC Columbia and online at ABCColumbia.com for the latest weather update, and you can follow Chief Meteorologist Reg Taylor (@regtaylortv) and Jonathan Oh (@johontv) on Facebook and Twitter for constant weather updates.