Cooler weather returning to Aiken

Flip-flops and T-shirts may be replaced by snow boots and parkas. Cooler temperatures moved into South Carolina on Thursday, and the probability of snowfall in the Upstate became a distinct possibility.

A dramatic change in weather conditions caused thermometers to spike into the 80s, earlier this week. The change was caused by a ridge of high pressure persisting over the mid-Atlantic before moving east into the ocean.

The low pressure system that has replaced it, and has centered over Alabama, can trace its origins out west to the four corners region, said Leonard Vaughan, National Weather Service meteorologist.

“It’s a strong system, a series of impulses in the atmosphere that pushed the ridge east,” said Vaughan.

The low pressure system brought wind, cooler temperatures and rainfall Thursday afternoon to the CSRA, and a winter weather advisory was issued for Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties until midnight, as there was the potential for 1 to 2 inches of snowfall. The forecast for Thursday evening called for the Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area to receive upward to 1 inch in snowfall. Wind gusts reached 33 mph at the Aiken Municipal Airport.

“The reason for the snowfall in the upstate is a disturbance in the atmosphere,” said Vaughan. “There’s an area of low pressure aloft above that cold air.”

The winter weather advisory caught the attention of the S.C. Department of Transportation, which decided to activate its website for winter road conditions.

To access the SCDOT website, visit scdot.org.