Some flooding in York, Chester counties; heavy rain in Columbia

Heavy rain early Tuesday closed at least one road and forced advisories for several areas in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties.

Lacy Street in Chester was closed from flooding, emergency officials said.

S.C. 72, known as Saluda Road, in southern York County near the Chester County line near S.C. 324, had water in the roadway, according to an advisory on the S.C. Department of Public Safety Web site. Emergency scanner traffic stated a caller told officials that water had crested the bridge near the intersection.

Interstate 77 in southern Chester County south of exit 57 was closed for several hours in the morning before reopening after a tractor trailer carrying gasoline overturned, police said.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for small streams in eastern and central York County through Tuesday morning, including Dutchman Creek and other areas already passed flood stage.

In the Columbia area, emergency officials monitored a spillway in northeastern Richland County after heavy rain moved through the area.

South Carolina Emergency Management Division spokesman Derrec Becker says state officials inspected the spillway Tuesday and it’s structurally sound.

The heavy rain also caused roads to close in McCormick, Saluda, Greenwood, Lexington, Newberry and Fairfield counties.

The National Weather Service says 2.73 inches of rain fell at Columbia’s airport through 3 p.m. Tuesday. That pushes the yearly total to 60.68 inches.

This year is only the sixth time in 68 years of records Columbia has gotten over 60 inches of rain. But it’s still far away from Columbia’s yearly record of 70.53 inches.

Tuesday also marks the 19th time in 2015 Columbia has received more than an inch of rain in a day.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Some flooding in York, Chester counties; heavy rain in Columbia."