Storm Looks To Hit Columbia During Holiday Travel

By Todd Richissin (Patch National Staff)

A giant storm system is now gathering, and forecasters said Sunday that it could wallop an area from the midwest to the Eastern Seaboard with heavy rains and wind gusts of 50 mph just in time for holiday travel.

While the storm is not expected to bring heavy snow as winter storm Cato did for Thanksgiving, delays in air travel and flooding are expected, according to Weather.com, which called the potential for the storm “very serious.”

In Columbia, the forecast calls for a chance of rain and sleet before 9 a.m. Monday, then a 50-percent chance of rain through Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Rain is increasingly likely Tuesday night through Wednesday, with an 80 percent chance of precipitation Christmas Eve.

Temps should be in the mid 30s Monday, rise into the 40s Tuesday and climb into the 60s on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, before temperatures drop to the mid 40s again Christmas Day.

See the Columbia forecast from the National Weather Service.

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