Hurricane Irene Could Bring Heavy Rain to Midlands Saturday

Columbia residents won't experience much more than heavy rain if Hurricane Irene hits South Carolina this weekend, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said Monday. 

It's still a little early to predict the exact path of the Category I hurricane, said meteorologist Tony Petrolito.

"It could approach the Carolinas Friday into Saturday. That's pretty far out into time. There's still a big questions as to where it's going to be," Petrolito said.

"It could be anywhere from Florida to North Carolina when we move into Friday and Saturday. There's a lot of error."

But if it does land in South Carolina early Saturday, meteorologists predict it will be a Category II storm with heavy rain and winds.

"The overall wind threat [for the Midlands] would be relatively low," Petrolito said. "The strongest winds would be to the east along the coast."  

The National Weather Service lists the threat level for the Midlands as medium to low, while the threat level for the coast of South Carolina is high. The storm is expected to with winds up to 115 mph. 

Gov. Nikki Haley announced on her Facebook page Monday that the state has already taken precautions for the storm. 

"I would ask the people of our state to get your important documents together. Take the time to do an inventory of your home. Most importantly discuss storm planning with your family," Haley wrote. 

For information about hurricane preparedness, visit the National Weather Service's website.

To keep up with the storm's path, visit the Weather Channel's page on Hurricane Irene.

Only four hurricanes have made landfall in the U.S. since the 2004-05 hurricane seasons, according to the Weather Channel. All of those storms landed in the Gulf of Mexico.