Severe storms cause damage in Blythewood ahead of Tropical Storm Debby

BLYTHEWOOD – Several areas in Blythewood experienced flooding on the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 5 as heavy rainfall fell across the area for hours.

The cause of the heavy rainfall was not related to Tropical Storm Debby. It was caused by an upper-level trough along with a weak surface front which worked into the area late Friday night into Saturday morning. The upper-level trough significantly increased upper-level moisture and provided a good amount of storm energy. The associated surface front, paired with warm temperatures acted as a trigger mechanism to initiate the afternoon storms.

It was known coming into the day that there was potential for flash flooding because the area was already sitting above normal in terms of rainfall. Therefore, cells that were to sit over the same areas and back-build were likely to cause issues.

That is exactly what we saw Saturday afternoon.

Light showers started to develop southwest of Blythewood at 1:45 p.m. and quickly blew up into a severe thunderstorm by 2:30 p.m., producing 60 mile per hour winds and rainfall rates up to 5 inches per hour.

Initial reports came from Grover Wilson Road where, shortly after the warning was issued, where trees were downed in the road.

Prior to any flood warnings, ditches were overflowing, covering Langford Road in a few inches of standing water. After receiving that report, the National Weather Service in Columbia issued a Flash Flood Warning around 3:15 p.m.

Over the next several hours reports came in with pictures and video of wind damage and flooding occurring in the Blythewood area. The most extensive wind damage occurred along Wilson Blvd near Transfiguration Catholic Church. A large tree was uprooted and blocking the road.

Some other wind damage was reported around the Blythewood area such as limbs and small trees downed, as well as some minor roof damage. However, no pictures were shared.

The real concern was the ongoing flooding across Blythewood. Several pictures and videos show flooding causing trouble in various parts of town. Standing water was reported at the intersection of Hard Scrabble, Rimer Pond and Kelly Mill Roads, however no pictures were shared. Ditches were also overflowing into the roadways near the intersection of Farrow Road and Wilson Blvd.

By this point, flooding was quickly becoming more and more of a concern as reports continued to come in. The National Weather Service decided to take the Flash Flood Warning up a step, tagging it as a “Considerable” threat. This is often done when life-threatening flooding is occurring. With people not heeding the warnings, they were getting stuck in the flood waters.

Smyrna Church Road near Heins Road was covered in standing water, forcing local officials to shut down the road. EJW Road was covered in flood waters with debris floating on top of the water.

While photos and reports showed significant flooding across the area, some of the most significant flooding occurred near Killian Loop. Videos showed water rushing across the road, later causing part of Killian Road near Killian Loop to be washed out completely. As of now, the road is still closed as crews work to repair the roadway.

In the end, some areas in Blythewood received over 6 inches of rain as reported by local weather stations and unofficial observations. Although they are unofficial, we still look at those to get a rough idea. Some official totals came in near 5 inches at Westwood High School, 3.86 inches at Elders Pond, and just over 4 inches at Bear Creek.

Damage is still being dealt with from the flooding which occurred on August 3, however efforts have been put on hold due to Tropical Storm Debby.

With Tropical Storm Debby stalled near Charleston, it continues to dump heavy rain across the state, including Blythewood and Fairfield County. Debby is expected to make a second landfall near Georgetown, SC as a high-end tropical storm hits sometime Thursday.

Impacts will continue to be felt as far inland as the Upstate. On Tuesday alone, some areas across Blythewood and Fairfield County received over 3 inches of rain from Debby. An additional 5 to 8 inches of rain is still forecasted to fall through Friday afternoon