MAJOR ICESTORM underway and SLAMMING SOUTH CAROLINA...

[Stormsfury]

A very strong area of freezing rain and mixed precipitation with embedded THUNDERSTORMS continue to pound the Midlands of South Carolina, and WILL make its way to the South Carolina coast later today and tonight ...

The AFD's from Columbia, and Charleston WFO's are downright frightening for the areas of responsibility ... I'm checking in from work right now, and do not have the time to go over the individual model outputs ... but this is going to be an icestorm in South Carolina that will NOT be forgotten for a LONG TIME.

First, the AFD's this morning...

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1023 AM EST MON JAN 26 2004

.UPDATE...
WILL EXTEND WINTER STORM WARNING OVER ALL CWA.

FREEZING TEMPERATURES COVER ALL OF CWA AT PRESENT TIME. BAND OF
MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS CWA WITH
EMBEDDED THUNDER. ICE IS ACCUMULATING RAPIDLY. WE ARE GETTING MANY
REPORTS OF TREE LIMBS DOWN ON POWER LINES AND ALL MAJOR HIGHWAYS
REPORTING NUMEROUS VEHICLES HAVE RUN OFF THE ROAD.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...
WILL EXTEND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY INTO BURKE, BARNWELL AND
BARNWELL CNTYS THROUGH 12PM. UNTIL 4 PM FOR CLARENDON, CALHOUN,
ORANGEBURG, AIKEN, RICHMOND, COLUMBIA. WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUE
NORTH OF LINE FROM THE CITIES OF SUMTER, COLUMBIA, LEXINGTON TO
EDGEFIELD AND LINCOLN.

WEDGE OF SHALLOW COLD AIR TO REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY
AND TONIGHT. TEMPS STILL FALLING ACROSS THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING.
ETA HAS A GOOD HANDLE ON LOW LEVEL TEMPERATURES. WILL KEEP TEMPS
TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY CLOSE TO ETA GUIDANCE. WILL FORECAST TEMPS
WARNING ABOVE FREEZING ACROSS THE SOUTHERNMOST COUNTIES THIS
AFTERNOON.

SHORT WAVE MOVING IN FROM THE GULF OF MEX WILL BRING ANOTHER BAND OF
PRECIP INTO THE AREA THIS MORNING. MODELS SHOWING GOOD OMEGA ACROSS
THE AREA THIS MORNING AND THIS AFTERNOON. ETA MODEL AND HPC SHOWING
ABOUT AN INCH PRECIP ACROSS PART OF THE AREA TODAY. SO, LOOKING AT
1/2 INCH OR MORE OF GLAZE ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NRN SC.
PRECIP WILL TAPER OFF THIS EVENING. NO POPS FOR TUESDAY.

NO CHANGES MADE FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD.
&&

.CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SC...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH THIS EVENING ALL COUNTIES.
GA...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH THIS EVENING ALL COUNTIES.
&&


AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
1000 AM EST MON JAN 26 2004

.PUBLIC...MAIN PRECIP AXIS JUST W OF THE CWA THIS MORNING WITH
LEADING EDGE ALMOST TO MILLEN AND ALLENDALE. SOME SPOTTY LIGHT
PRECIP NEAR THE COAST AND THE S SANTEE RIVER. LARGE TEMP GRADIENT
AGAIN THIS MORNING WITH NEAR FREEZING N TO THE 50S IN THE DARIEN
AREA. MOISTURE AXIS IS SHIFTING ONLY SLOWLY E WHILE INDIVIDUAL CELLS
ARE FLYING TO THE NE NEAR 40 MPH. FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS NEAR OR JUST S
OF THE CWA...AS WINDS AND TEMPS

AS PRECIP SPREADS E THIS AFTERNOON THE CONCERN IN OUR AREA BECOMES
ICING POTENTIAL MORNING SOUNDING SUPPORTS FREEZING RAIN AND DESPITE
MOST TEMPS ABOVE FREEZING AT THIS TIME...ONCE THE HEAVIER AND
STEADIER PRECIP MOVES IN TEMPS WILL BEGIN TO FALL. AT THIS TIME I AM
CONSIDERING TWO OPTIONS. ONE WOULD BE TO EXTEND THE TIME OF THE
WINTER WX ADVISORY INTO TONIGHT AND EXPAND THE AREA INTO PARTS OF
GA. OR MORE LIKELY CHANGING TO A WINTER STORM WARNING AS IT SURE
LOOKS LIKE WE COULD GET MORE THAN 1/4 INCH OF FREEZING RAIN. WILL
CONTINUE WITH CURRENT ADVISORY AND REASSESS THE SITUATION AGAIN LATE
THIS MORNING FOR ONE OF THE TWO ABOVE OPTIONS.

ELEVATED THUNDER WILL ALSO OCCUR IN SOME AREAS...BUT WITH WEDGE SO
FIRMLY IN PLACE THE THREAT OF SVR WX SEEMS SMALL AND SPC DOES HAVE
SLGT RISK AREA S OF THE FCST REGION. TEMPS NOT GOING MUCH OF
ANYWHERE TODAY EXCEPT EXTREME S SO WILL ADJUST FCST AND GRIDS AS
NEEDED.

&&

[Cheesy_Poofs]

YIKES! Stay Safe!!

[Stormsfury]

Anywhere from a trace of FRZ in Northern Dorchester and Berkeley Counties to amounts ranging from ¼"- ½" of ice in the Midlands and continued very heavy freezing rains and occasional sleet with thunderstorms ...

This is one incredible band of thunderstorms with temperatures remaining well below FRZ ... unreal ...

http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/sc/public.html