Update: Hurricane remnants prompt flood watch for York, Lancaster, Chester counties

Remnants of Hurricane Idalia are forecast to swing across South Carolina late Wednesday and early Thursday, bringing what could be a wide range of weather conditions to the Rock Hill region.

Forecasters say Idalia’s predicted track could produce heavy rain in the eastern part of the Rock Hill region, and lesser amounts to the west.

The National Weather Service is not taking a chance and has placed all of York, Lancaster and Chester counties in a Flood Watch, effective from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday evening.

Forecasters say the heaviest rain is expected to fall Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning in Florida’s Big Bend area, near Tallahassee, as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. National Hurricane Center forecasters expected the storm to cross southern Georgia and then sweep up the South Carolina coast before moving into the Atlantic.

Hurricane and Tropical Storm warnings are posted for the South Carolina coast and even into the Midlands.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has declared a State of Emergency across South Carolina, and the state’s Emergency Management Center is at a stepped-up level of operations.

Duke Energy and other utility companies have staged crews for possible repairs. Road crews from the western part of the state, where Idalia’s impacts are expected to be minor, are being prepared to help in harder-hit areas.

The cutoff between heavy rain and lighter amounts could be rather sharp – and that cutoff could fall somewhere across the Rock Hill region.

National Weather Service meteorologist Harry Gerapetritis referred to the heavy rain area as “a thin stripe.”

The Weather Service is forecasting less than 1 inch of rain in much of York County but 2-3 inches in Lancaster County.

But a slight shift in Idalia’s track could push the heavier rain band farther to the northwest and into Rock Hill.

The Midlands, including Columbia, are forecast to receive up to 7 inches of rain, along with winds gusting over 40 mph and even a threat of tornadoes.

There will be a silver lining behind all of this – in the form of beautiful weather for the Labor Day weekend.

High pressure is predicted to bring sunshine and cooler-than-normal temperatures, with low humidity, for Friday and Saturday. Forecasters say temperatures will warm Sunday and Monday, even approaching 90 degrees by Labor Day. But humidity levels are expected to remain relatively low.

“Nice fall-like weather looks to continue through the period,” said Scott Krentz, of the National Weather Service office in Greer..

This story was originally published August 29, 2023 at 8:45 AM.