Wintry weather is possible to portions of the Upstate Saturday night as a sharp cold front arrives from the west.
On Friday afternoon, surface observations indicated a strong low pressure area over Lake Superior with two separate cold fronts trailing behind. The first cold front was positioned across the Mid-Mississippi River Valley, while the second front was pushing through the Northern Great Plains. This frontal system will approach South Carolina by Saturday evening, bringing rain chances to the Upstate after sunset as temperatures fall through the 50s and 40s.
Saturday night, the atmosphere will cool from top to bottom, which will likely support a rain-to-snow transition as opposed to icy mix. As colder air pushes into the state, deeper moisture should exit, thus diminishing the potential for heavier precipitation. Recent model trends have started to suggest a slight increase in precipitation totals, but it still appears that both rain and snow amounts will remain generally light.
Snow showers should transition to chilly rain showers by mid-to-late Sunday morning as temperatures climb into the 40s. Lingering light rain will taper through the early afternoon, then as drier and cooler air arrives from the northwest, skies should gradually clear Sunday night.