Steady and sometimes heavy rain fell into Monday morning for much of the western half of South Carolina. The CoCoRaHS volunteer at Ridgeway reported a 24-hour rainfall total of 4.15 inches. Winnsboro and Longtown each measured 3.12 inches. Fishing Creek Dam on the Catawba River received 2.94 inches and Springfield was soaked with 2.90 inches. The Charleston AP warmed to 81 degrees before afternoon thunderstorms developed over the Lowcountry. At 4:35 p.m., the Sun City community near Bluffton reported hailstones of 1.75 inches in diameter. At 7:47 p.m., an EF0 rated short-path tornado passed three miles east of Ridgeway. Areas of fog were observed on Tuesday morning with reduced visibilities down to one-sixteenth of a mile at Greenville-Spartanburg AP. The thirty days of April left 9.37 inches of rain at Caesars Head and 2.62 inches at Clinton. Much cooler air arrived on Wednesday as high pressure ridged southward along the eastern seaboard. Manning and Dillon reported a Wednesday afternoon high temperature of 69 degrees. At 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, Folly Beach recorded northeast winds of 29 mph gusting to 35 mph. Light showers were observed along the coastal plain. Strong onshore winds on Friday produced wind gusts of 48 mph at the Isle of Palms Pier and 45 mph at Folly Beach. Cloudy, rainy weather slowed the mercury thermometer all weekend. Greenwood and Sandy Springs noted a Saturday high temperature of just 56 degrees. Saturday rains fell into Sunday at Calhoun Falls and totaled 2.50 inches. Lines of showers paraded across central South Carolina through Sunday. The Sunday 66-degree high temperature at Columbia's Hamilton-Owens AP was 28 degrees colder than on the same date in 2012. The average temperature for the seven-day period was two degrees below the long-term average.
The highest official temperature reported was 82 degrees at Adams Run and Hardeeville on April 29. The lowest official temperature reported was 42 degrees at Caesars Head on May 4. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.19 inches at Greenville-Spartanburg AP on May 5. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 2.4 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Total Total from Avg
Anderson AP 2.01 18.85 3.1
Greer AP 4.08 21.40 5.1
Charlotte, NC AP 0.92 16.39 2.1
Columbia Metro AP 2.58 17.28 3.3
Orangeburg AP 2.13 16.17 1.4
Augusta, GA Bush AP 2.21 19.21 4.0
Florence AP 1.88 14.29 1.8
N Myrtle Beach AP 2.59 15.19 0.7
Charleston AP 2.13 21.82 8.1
Savannah, GA AP 3.07 18.72 5.0
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 63 degrees, Charleston 67 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were near to above normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 64 degrees.
