At 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning, the Coast Guard Station in Charleston measured a wind gust of 59 mph. Cold air advection forced the thermometer to its lowest readings of the year just before sunrise. Successive waves of cold air were observed through the workweek. On Thursday, low pressure moving northeast from the Gulf coast states created a mixed package of winter weather for inland locations in SC. Snow began falling across the western Piedmont and Foothills before 5:00 a.m. Edgemoore, in Chester County, measured an event total of 4.5 inches. The Midlands reported areas of a "dusting" to periods of rain mixed with snow. By midday most of the precipitation had changed over to a cold, soaking rain. Clouds and drizzle were slow to clear on Friday. A few sites, south of a boundary along the central coast, managed to warm to near 60 degrees. More winter cold returned for the weekend on brisk northwest winds of between 20 and 30 mph. Peak temperatures, under partly sunny skies, were in the 40's on Saturday and in the 50's on Sunday. For the period, the state average temperature was eight degrees below normal.
The highest official temperature reported was 61 degrees at Ft. Moultrie and Charleston City on February 2. The lowest official temperature reported was 6 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of January 29. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.71 inches at Edisto Beach State Park ending at 7:00 a.m. on February 2. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 1.1 inches.
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Deviation
Total Total From Avg
Greer 0.83 5.50 0.5
Columbia 0.95 4.01 -1.2
Orangeburg 1.28 4.86 -0.4
Charlotte, NC 0.65 4.03 -0.5
Augusta, GA 1.31 4.35 -0.8
Florence 0.99 3.49 -1.1
Myrtle Beach 1.24 4.52 0.4
Charleston 1.38 5.21 0.7
Savannah, GA 1.25 3.97 -0.4
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 47 degrees.
South Carolina river stages were near to above normal. Ocean water temperatures at Fripp Inlet were reported at 47 degrees.
For additional information contact tylerw@dnr.sc.gov or by calling (803) 734-9100.
