WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2015

February 23, 2015 - March 1, 2015

Twenty-four-hour rainfall measurements taken on Monday morning included 1.20 inches at Sandhill, 1.04 inches at Blackville and 1.01 inches at Shaw AFB. At 8:00 a.m., Orangeburg AP reported heavy rain and 57 degrees. An overnight frontal boundary began changing the Upstate's rain to snow, then sleet and freezing rain into the Midlands all the way to the central coast. Newberry and Sumter reported a "dusting" of snow at sunrise. The Walhalla Fish Hatchery in Oconee County received 4 inches of snow. The N Myrtle Beach AP 10:00 a.m. observation noted freezing rain and 29 degrees. Icy overpasses in Horry County caused accidents and detours to traffic. Just after the noon hour, "tree icing" was reported by the public at Marion Square on the Charleston Peninsula. Conway's temperature on Tuesday never made it past freezing. Long Creek's Wednesday morning low temperature fell to 21 degrees. A Gulf State's feature approached during the afternoon bringing another episode of heavy rains, sleet and snow. At 11:00 p.m., Greenwood, Columbia, Eastover, Sumter, Orangeburg, Charleston and Beaufort all reported heavy rain. Charleston Southern University observed a rain-sleet mix that included thunder. Walterboro was soaked with 2.50 inches of rain and Hemingway measured 2.00 inches. The heaviest event-ending snowfall measured on Thursday was 6.5 inches at Long Creek. Travelers Rest received 3.5 inches of snow and 1.8 inches covered the ground in Blacksburg. Instruments at Mt. Pleasant Regional Airport noted a minimum barometric pressure value of 29.47 inches of mercury. On Friday morning, the temperature over the snow covered summit at Sassafras Mt. fell to 23 degrees. The surface freezing extended south into Orangeburg and eastward into Jamestown. Mostly sunny, cold conditions were observed for the daylight hours of Saturday. The barometric pressure spiked at 30.72 inches of mercury at Rock Hill, Chester, Cheraw and Darlington. More rains entered the southern counties during the evening. The February 2015 28-day state rainfall ranged from a high 5.77 inches at Sullivan's Island to a low of 2.39 inches at York. February's preliminary average temperature at the Greenville-Spartanburg AP was their coldest in 47 years. At Charleston it was their coldest in 37 years. It was the second coldest at Florence in 36 years and also at Columbia in 35 years. Johnston and Hartsville reported a March 1 minimum temperature of 30 degrees. Summerville reported Sunday's highest temperature at 55 degrees within periods of light rain. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was nine degrees below the long-term average.

WEATHER SUMMARY:

The highest official temperature reported was 61 degrees at Edisto Island and Walterboro on February 23. The lowest official temperature reported was 16 degrees at Jocassee 8WNW on February 27. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.60 inches at Pinopolis Dam ending at 7:00 a.m. on February 26. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 2.0 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

 
                                  
                                   Precipitation  
                              Weekly   Jan 1    Departure 
        Anderson AP            0.68     6.23      -1.7
           Greer AP            0.79     7.45      -0.5
   Charlotte, NC AP            0.94     5.98      -0.9
  Columbia Metro AP            2.79     7.84       0.5
      Orangeburg AP            2.84     7.06      -0.6
Augusta, GA Bush AP            3.05     7.03      -0.9
        Florence AP            2.38     7.14       0.9 
  N Myrtle Beach AP            2.11     7.26       0.0
      Charleston AP            3.25     8.07       1.3
    Savannah, GA AP            2.25     7.62       1.0

Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 50 degrees, Charleston 47 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were near to above normal. Charleston Harbor reported a water temperature of 47 degrees and Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach reported a surf water temperature of 45 degrees.