WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2016

February 22, 2016 - February 28, 2016

WEATHER SUMMARY:

Cloudy, mild weather on Monday included passing thundershowers. Charleston and Walterboro reached 77 degrees. On Tuesday morning, 2.70 inches of rain had fallen at the NWS Cooperative site at Greenville 1S. Kings Mountain National Military Park received 2.47 inches, 2.09 inches fell at Gaston Shoals and the Greenville-Spartanburg AP measured 2.02 inches. A bank of clouds separated much of a cool Upstate with a sunny and warm Lowcountry. Beaufort and Allendale both reached 77 degrees. Additional heavy rains in the Upstate raised the event's running total to 3.24 inches at Greenville's Reedy River USGS gage. On Wednesday, a broad and powerful cyclonic circulation passed west of South Carolina into the Ohio River Valley. It was the state's windiest day since March 13, 1993. Surface winds at Shaw AFB in Sumter and Orangeburg roared at 55 mph. Charleston AP and McEntire ANG AP near Eastover recorded winds of 54 mph, and at 12:48 p.m., the Columbia AP measured south winds gusting at 53 mph. Other notable gusts included 51 mph at Greenville-Spartanburg AP, 50 mph at Lake Murray Dam USGS and 49 mph at Lancaster's McWhirter Field. At 2:55 p.m., runway instruments at Cheraw's Lynch Bellinger Field (KCQW) recorded a minimum barometric pressure value of 29.47 inches (994.6 mb) of mercury. At around 3:16 p.m., an EF0 rated tornado made a brief touchdown along Highway 1 between Patrick and Cheraw. Toppled trees and falling limbs caused interruptions to electrical service and traffic flow across the state, and resulted in one fatality in Darlington County. Columbia Metro AP and Orangeburg AP both recorded 80 degrees on Wednesday before an overnight wave of colder air chilled both sites by 35 degrees. A dusting of light snow was reported at Caesars Head State Park on Thursday morning. Clear, windy conditions continued through the day with gusts of over 40 mph then slowly diminishing. Beaufort was the only location reporting at least 60 degrees for a high temperature on Thursday. Friday's sunrise temperatures fell to a freezing 32 degrees at Hartsville and Moncks Corner. All-day northwest winds delivered more cold into the state. On Saturday morning, Spartanburg, Chesnee, Rock Hill and Darlington noted a hard freeze of 24 degrees. It was 30 degrees in Summerville. Sunday's sunrise temperature at Moncks Corner of 32 degrees climbed to a mild 66 degrees by 2:35 p.m. At 4:00 p.m., Allendale had warmed to 70 degrees with a dry 19 percent relative humidity. Mostly southerly winds moved the Sunday afternoon high temperature to 71 degrees at Clarks Hill, Columbia's Hamilton-Owens AP and Jamestown.

The highest official temperature reported was 81 degrees at Allendale AP (KAQX) on February 24. The lowest official temperature reported was 23 degrees at Sassafras Mt. on February 26. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.35 inches at the Walhalla Fish Hatchery (Jocassee 8WNW) ending at 7:00 a.m. on February 24. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 1.2 inches. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was two degrees above the long term average.

PRECIPITATION:

  Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Anderson AP 1.52 6.92 -0.8
Greer AP 2.49 8.26 0.5
Charlotte, NC AP 2.79 6.78 0.1
Columbia Metro AP 2.18 6.63 -0.6
Orangeburg AP 0.84 7.17 -0.4
Augusta, GA Bush AP 1.02 5.42 -2.4
Florence AP 1.24 7.46 1.3
N Myrtle Beach AP 0.76 8.07 1.0
Charleston AP 0.38 8.29 1.6
Savannah, GA AP 0.11 6.41 -0.1

Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 55 degrees, Charleston (NA).

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were near normal. The Charleston Harbor Ravenel Bridge reported a water temperature of 55 degrees. Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach reported a surf water temperature of 53 degrees.