The Congaree Rises…

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Hurricane Helene‘s destructive impact on the American South continued unabated this weekend. Having already dealt a devastating blow to Florida’s gulf coast – followed by an “Appalachian Apocalypse” of catastrophic flooding in the mountains of western North Carolina and Tennessee – the storm’s tropical deluge is now choking the river basins of South Carolina with potentially record-breaking flooding.

The Palmetto State – which absorbed a stronger-than-expected initial blow from Helene last week – is now dealing with rising floodwaters (especially in the Santee River basin).

In downtown Columbia, S.C. – the capital of the Palmetto State – floodwaters on the Congaree River on Sunday evening were already approaching levels not seen since 2015’s ‘Floodmageddon,’ which was billed at the time as a 1,000-year storm.

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The Congaree forms approximately a mile-and-a-half west-northwest of the S.C. State House at the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers. It flows for fifty-three miles until it joins with the Wateree River to form the Santee.

The Santee basin drains broad swaths of the North Carolina and South Carolina piedmont – and includes the Catawba, Congaree, Broad, Linville, Saluda and Wateree rivers.

According to the latest provisional data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as of 8:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday (September 29, 2024), the Congaree had reached 29 feet – just twelve inches shy of its major flood stage. Projections called for the river to crest at 31 feet on Monday afternoon – a foot above major flood stage – and just shy of the 31.8-foot mark attained during ‘Floodmageddon.’

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The Congaree wasn’t the only contributor to the massive drainage problem facing the Santee basin. The Wateree River exceeded its major flood stage level on Sunday – hitting 37.92 feet as of 8:00 p.m. EDT. Thankfully, projections from the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS) called for it to hold at that level – and then recede slightly over the coming week.

Our Andy Fancher was in Lugoff, S.C. – a town on the eastern bank of the river in Kershaw County – on Sunday and captured several images of the Wateree’s flood waters.

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#HurricaneHelene ? @FITSNews pic.twitter.com/ZQUFADVcIi

— Andrew Fancher (@RealAndyFancher) September 29, 2024

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Downstream of the Midlands, a flood warning was already in effect for the Santee River from just north of Pineville extending approximately forty-five miles southeast to North Santee, S.C. According to USGS data, a gauge near Jameston, S.C. – which is located in the center of that warning area – was already reading at 9.76 feet as of 8:00 p.m. EDT, which was just below minor flood stage.

The Santee is projected to reach major flood stage next Friday – October 4, 2024 – a reminder of how the impacts of a storm that made landfall three days ago several hundred miles away will continue impacting our weather for days to come.

Count on this media outlet to keep our audience in the loop on the latest developments as the impacts of Helene continue to be felt far and wide across the Palmetto State.

_{^{BANNER VIA: CONGAREE RIVERKEEPER}}

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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