WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2013

March 25 - March 31, 2013

WEATHER SUMMARY:

Strong westerly winds brought late season cold on Monday. At noon, the Columbia Metro AP recorded west winds of 29 mph, gusting to 41 mph. Caesars Head State Park observed snow flurries. On Tuesday morning, the thermometer indicated 26 degrees at the Greenville-Spartanburg AP, 28 degrees at Sandhill and 32 degrees as far south as Summerville. Cold weather's grip continued overnight into Wednesday. Mount Pleasant AP and Conway AP reported a Wednesday morning low temperature of 32 degrees. At 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, sunny skies were observed at all airport reporting sites with a temperature range of 51 degrees at Anderson to 58 degrees at Florence. Freezing temperatures held on for another sunrise on Thursday. Sandy Springs observed a minimum of 24 degrees while a distant Andrews recorded a sub-freezing 29 degrees. A slow return to seasonal temperatures began on Friday. Barnwell warmed to 70 degrees. A few light showers passed through the Upstate overnight with amounts generally less than one-quarter of an inch. The Charleston AP reported a Saturday afternoon high temperature of 75 degrees which was their warmest afternoon in two weeks. More showers on Saturday night left 0.64 inches at Pickens and 0.26 inches at Rock Hill. Easter Sunday's breezy and warming weather moved increased counts of pine pollen from tree to exposed surfaces for much of central South Carolina. Shaw AFB, Orangeburg and Hardeeville all warmed up to 78 degrees on Sunday afternoon. Columbia's March 2013 temperature average of 51.0 degrees was the tenth coldest on record. The statewide rainfall range for March 2013 ended with 5.47 inches at Allendale and 1.76 inches at McColl. The average temperature for the seven-day period was eight degrees below the long term average.

The highest official temperature reported was 80 degrees at Barnwell on March 31. The lowest official temperature reported was 22 degrees at Hunts Bridge, Ninety Nine Islands and Cedar Creek on March 28. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.76 inches at Clemson AP ending at 7:00 a.m. on March 31. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 0.3 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

                                   Precipitation                
                              Weekly   Jan 1   Departure     
                              Total    Total    from Avg         
        Anderson AP            0.62    12.70      0.6
           Greer AP            0.52    12.67      0.4 
   Charlotte, NC AP            0.62    11.19      0.5
  Columbia Metro AP            0.06    10.37     -0.6
      Orangeburg AP            0.28    11.22     -0.3
Augusta, GA Bush AP            0.55    13.11      1.1
        Florence AP            0.19     9.01     -0.5
  N Myrtle Beach AP            0.10     8.24     -2.8
      Charleston AP            0.06    14.89      4.5
    Savannah, GA AP            0.01    12.32      2.1
      
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 59 degrees, Charleston 59 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were near normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 56 degrees.