By Patrick Phillips | May 26, 2020 at 10:50 AM EDT - Updated May 26 at 10:50 AM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Forecasters are watching an area of showers and thunderstorms over northeastern Florida expected to dump heavy rain over South Carolina by Wednesday.
The National Weather service says isolated severe thunderstorms, mainly north of the Savannah River, will be possible Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, with damaging winds and tornadoes expected to be the primary threat.
The National Hurricane Center says there is about a 20 percent chance the area will develop into a tropical system over the next five days. But even without that development, forecasters expect an increasing chance of scattered showers Tuesday with the greatest rain chance will move through late Tuesday night and early Wednesday, when periods of potentially heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding over portions of the Carolinas on Wednesday.
Areas including North Charleston, Georgetown and Kingstree could see rainfall totals in excess of three inches by Wednesday night, according to forecast models.
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The exact track and whether it develops will determine whether we see heavy rain by Wednesday morning, Meteorologist Joey Sovine says. The farther east the storm system tracks, the less rainfall the Lowcountry will see, he says.
There will also be the potential of a few strong to severe storms moving onshore, he said. Those storms could produce gusty winds and a brief tornado threat, he said.
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