Update: Rainfall totals dialed back to 7 inches; flood advisory remains
Morning update, 8:30 a.m.:
National Weather Service forecasts still call for heavy rain over the Beaufort County area today, expecting 3-4 inches with an additional 2-3 inches overnight. Precipitation chances are down to 90 percent from 100 percent and winds will be relatively calm.
Here is the latest tracking forecast for Hurricane Joaquin:
This story will be updated. Our original story continues below:
The heavy rain that will douse Beaufort County over the weekend is expected to peak late on Saturday before tapering off by Sunday afternoon.
Beaufort County is estimated to receive about eight inches of rain between Friday and Sunday afternoon, down from the foot of rain anticipated in forecasts earlier Friday, National Weather Service Charleston meteorologist Jonathan Lamb said.
The forecasts late Friday afternoon called for persistent rain to start Friday night, with moderate to heavy rain falling on-and-off into Saturday. The heaviest rain is expected to fall between Saturday afternoon and late Saturday night, Lamb said.
The area will be drenched from a weather system unrelated to Hurricane Joaquin and tropical moisture pushing north. The rain is expected to taper off by Sunday afternoon, with dry conditions into Monday, NWS Charleston meteorologist intern James Carpenter said.
Thursday night, Gov. Nikki Haley declared a state of emergency in advance of the heavy rain and any impacts from Joaquin, which could cause flooding across the state. A National Weather Service flash flood advisory for the area first issued Thursday was extended until 2 p.m. Sunday.
Hurricane Joaquin, which is expected to pass the area far out in the Atlantic Ocean early Sunday, isn't expected to affect much on land in the county, Carpenter said. Direct impacts of the storm will be low as the storm continues to move further out to sea, he said.
Tropical storm winds aren't expected over land, but the storm will still bring elevated tides, rough surf and rip currents as it passes by, Carpenter said.
Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
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This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 8:59 AM with the headline "Update: Rainfall totals dialed back to 7 inches; flood advisory remains."