10 AM Friday: A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for counties in the Northern midlands around and between the I-77 and I-95 corridors. In these areas, snow fall will make travel difficult on Friday night. One to two inch accumulations are likely, with locally higher amounts possible.
Snow showers are expected to impact portions of the the Midlands and Pee Dee on Friday night, as a powerful nor'easter develops off the Atlantic Coast. While parts of the Northeast and New England might receive over a foot of snow accumulations, the northern half of the Palmetto State should expect one to three inches.
On Thursday afternoon, a deep trough of low pressure stretched across Ontario into the Great Lakes and Mid West. At the same time, an area of quasi-stationary low pressure was located off the Florida Coast. Over the next several days, mid and upper level energy from the Canadian storm system is expected to slam into northward advancing Florida low. This should cause a powerful nor'easter to spin up along the Mid Atlantic Coast overnight Friday.
South Carolina will be on the western edge of the developing storm, and it is likely that a swath of snow will progress from the northern Upstate through the Midlands and into the Pee Dee overnight Friday into Saturday. While brief periods of moderate to heavy snowfall rates will be possible during that time, accumulations should only range between 1 to 3 inches.
Behind the snow squalls, a blast of cold and dry air from interior Canada will be pushed into the region. Highs in the Midlands on Saturday afternoon will likely be confined to the upper 30s/lower 40s, and overnight lows should plummet to the upper teens and low 20s. A ridge of high pressure is expected to build over the Southeast starting next workweek, which should introduce a warming trend to the winter-weather battered Palmetto State.