Sunday Evening Update: AREAL FLOOD ADVISORY for Richmond County and a small portion of Columbia County until 1:15AM. AREAL FLOOD ADVISORY & FLASH FLOOD WARNING for Aiken County until 2AM. 2-3″ of rain has fallen over a short period of time with an additional 1-2″ expected. Minor flooding is possible in low-lying and poor drainage areas.

Expect the rain and storms to continue until around 2AM, with a few more strong to severe storms tomorrow. There is a marginal risk of severe weather on Monday, despite futurecast models not showing much activity. Similar to tonight, storms can quickly develop and become strong or lead to flooding. The morning will be mostly cloudy with gradual clearing later on. It will be another hot and humid day with highs in the low 90s. The stalled front will cause more storms on Tuesday, but then the forecast becomes more tricky starting Tuesday night due to potential impacts from tropical Storm Idalia.

Tropical Storm Idalia formed Sunday morning off the coast of Cancun Mexico. Idalia is expected to strengthen as it moves northwest, further into the Gulf of Mexico. A Florida landfall is guaranteed, but the timing, intensity, and exact location are still very uncertain. That means that impacts to the CSRA are very uncertain as well. We have went ahead and issued VIPIR 6 ALERT DAYS Tuesday and Wednesday due to the possibility of tropical storm impacts.

The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Idalia to make landfall anywhere from Panama City to Tampa, but most likely along the Big Bend of Florida. This will be sometime on Wednesday morning, and at that point, Idalia could become a category two hurricane. If this is the case, Idalia will maintain tropical storm strength as it enters Georgia. The center of Idalia could move over anywhere from Macon to Savannah. The further southeast, the better for us. There’s still a chance that the center could stay completely off the coast of Georgia.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: Flooding rain with up to 5 inches, tropical storm force winds, a few spin up tornadoes. BEST CASE SCENARIO: Less than an inch of rain and breezy winds.

Stay with the Vipir 6 Weather Team over the next few days for the latest on Idalia!