South Carolina is heading into a soggy stretch of weather as waves of moisture push in from the southwest through the weekend.
Forecast models show round after round of moisture traversing the state, with most locales picking up 1-3 inches of rainfall through Sunday evening.
While a mix of wintry weather will be possible in the higher elevations of the Upstate, especially around the North Carolina border, no snowfall accumulations or ice accretions are expected in the Palmetto State.
Temperatures are expected to remain above freezing, which means most in South Carolina will ultimately see a cold rain rather than snow or ice.
The greatest chance for any brief frozen precipitation in the Upstate will be early Saturday morning, when some locations could bottom out in the mid-30s.
Farther north around Asheville, Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for places such as Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Burke, Caldwell and McDowell counties.
National Weather Service meteorologists were expecting snow and sleet accumulations of up to three-quarters of an inch and ice accretions of around one-tenth of an inch, which would make travel treacherous.
In South Carolina, the focus of the heaviest rainfall will be along and south of the Interstate 20 corridor, with some totals reaching upward of three inches by the time the wet weather event ends.
Due to the limited instability, no severe weather is anticipated, but a rumble of thunder cannot be ruled out.
The rainfall totals come on top of the half-inch to two inches that fell earlier in the week, which caused some improvement in the drought monitor.
Along the coast, if the heavy rainfall coincides with periods of high tide, flooding could be a concern due to already high astronomical tides.
Minor coastal flooding was already reported Thursday morning along tidal waterways around Charleston, which triggered the issuance of a Coastal Flood Advisory.
Most of the flooding is considered nuisance flooding, with boat ramps, sidewalks and some roadways underwater during periods of high tide.
More flooding alerts are expected to be issued over the weekend before tidal levels gradually ease early next week.
Rain is expected to taper off by Monday with the passage of a frontal boundary, allowing drier air to sweep across the state.
Behind the front, temperatures will remain below normal values through most of the upcoming workweek, as the flow comes out of the west and north.
