Various parts of the Midlands could see historical amounts of rain this week due to Hurricane Debby, the latest prediction show.
According to a forecast from the National Weather Service on Monday morning, Debby could generate up to 6 inches of rain in the Midlands by Friday this week.
Debby arrived in Florida on Monday. It is expected to begin impacting the Midlands on Monday night and continue through Tuesday and Wednesday. But even after most of the storm passes, more rain is expected through Friday, the NWS says.
More specifically, the southern and eastern parts of the Midlands, such as Columbia and Orangeburg, could receive between 10 and 18 inches of rain. More areas to the north could receive between 3 and 8 inches. Nearly all of the Midlands could receive at least 10 inches of rain from the storm, the NWS says.
With the threat of heavy rain comes the likelihood of significant flooding.
“This amount of rainfall is expected to lead to widespread flooding as soils are saturated across much of the forecast area,” the NWS states.
As such, a Flood watch is scheduled to take effect at noon Monday. It is scheduled to last until Thursday night.
The flood watch includes most of the Midlands, including Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Sumter, Clarendon, Calhoun, Lee and Orangeburg counties. Extensive street flooding and creek and river flooding are possible, the NWS says.
