How Helene's Winds and Rains Impacted Columbia

Columbia just got a real taste of Tropical Storm Helene, and it wasn’t pleasant. The airport clocked a wind gust at 67 mph, which is pretty strong! Lots of power lines went down, and trees fell everywhere because of the storm. Heavy rains made things worse by soaking the ground. When more rain came, it could have caused flooding and more trees to fall.The good news is that Helene is moving out quickly. By late morning on Friday, she should be gone, heading towards Tennessee and Kentucky. The sun might even peek out in the afternoon with winds calming down. Temperatures will stay warm, around 80°F in the west and mid-80s in the east. As for the weekend, there’s a small chance of isolated showers up north due to some weather system over Ohio River Valley. This might cause some minor river flooding in Upstate South Carolina. But overall, the forecast is improving as Helene leaves town.