Charleston Weather » heavy rain

Tough commute possible this afternoon

Jared Smith — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:41:50 +0000

Heavy rain and thunderstorms — a few of which could reach severe limits — are a possibility this afternoon as a storm system pushes its way east through the area. While the best severe potential remains south of here (think Beaufort), there’s still a shot of some heavy rumbling up in Charleston. We’re not included in a watch or convective outlook yet, though that could change as the day rolls on.

Another concern is flooding. Localized totals of 3″ are forecasted. Right now, expect the heavier rains to start around noon and pick up throughout the afternoon. As with any heavy rain event, street flooding in the usual spots downtown cannot be ruled out, but a widespread flooding event is probably not so much in the cards, as tides will be receding throughout the afternoon. High tide is at 11:20 AM, followed by low tide at 5:46 PM.

Continue to watch this thread and @chswx for updates throughout the day.

Rain, potential flooding Tuesday morning

Jared Smith — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:40:23 +0000

Our wetter-than-average December will continue through Tuesday — another several inches of rain are expected during the day Tuesday as another system pushes through the area. There are some concerns on the timing of the system — we could yet again see heavy rain coinciding with a high tide in downtown Charleston tomorrow morning. (High tide occurs just after 7am.) Thus, a Flash Flood Watch is in effect for Charleston County — primarily targeted at those areas of downtown that flood — through the morning hours. If your commute takes you through downtown, be careful of areas of standing water and don’t attempt to drive through them.

We also have a shot at thunderstorms during the day; fortunately, conditions are not expected to be favorable for severe weather. Some severe weather, including tornadoes, has been observed in Georgia, but that activity is not expected to be a factor into the Charleston area. If conditions change, you’ll see an update on @chswx with further explanation here. Try to stay dry tomorrow!

Sheets & Buckets

Jared Smith — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:28:51 +0000

So a little backstory: I was on a drive back from WordCampRDU this weekend, about to hit my last leg into Charleston. I was getting some e-mails from Weather Underground saying that some strong storms had fired over West Ashley and that given my timing I was probably going to hit them.

Storm totals as of 5:30 -- the red is right around my complex, indicating 3-4+ inches of rain.

And hit them I did! As I crossed the Westmoreland Bridge (the bridge over the Ashley that separates North Charleston from Charleston on 526) I lost all visibility thanks to driving rain and very gusty winds. I slowed to a crawl, pulled my phone out, and saw the tornado warning waiting for me. Many cars were stopped on 526; however, I was able to inch along and finally get off the freeway. Upon turning onto Magwood Road, I saw the wind increase and start throwing quite a bit of branches and leaves across the road. I saw a tattered American flag being battered by the wind and knew that this was definitely not your ordinary severe thunderstorm.

Upon arriving home the rain continued to beat down, and I noticed that the water had completely escaped the banks of the ditches and, in some cases, was flowing into streets and flooding the parking lots. The complex is close to marsh, and thus a bit more susceptible to flooding than you might think outside of downtown. It takes a pretty decent rainfall for this to happen, and that was definitely in place, as the RADAR-estimated storm rainfall total map illustrates. Here’s a slideshow of the aftermath:

Also check out a shot from Sullivan’s Island by WCBD’s Brendan Clark.