SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

May 13 - 19, 2002


WEATHER SUMMARY

Southerly winds ahead of an approaching cold front on Monday pushed afternoon temperatures into the upper 80's and lower 90's. Several thunderstorms formed in its passing, some producing high winds and at least one report of golf ball sized hail in Gaffney. Much cooler air settled over the state by Tuesday with temperatures falling around twenty degrees. Mostly sunny weather along with a slow warming trend continued into Friday. On Saturday, a second boundary of cooler air slowly passed across South Carolina with early morning rains which lingered into the afternoon. Inland sites reported clearing and cooler conditions on Sunday while the immediate coast remained cloudy with passing showers. For the period, the state average temperature was three degrees below normal.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

The highest temperature reported was 96 degrees at Allendale on May 13. The lowest temperature was 36 degrees at Longcreek on the morning of May 15. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall was 1.60" at Summerville ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 19. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.9".

                     Precipitation
               Period     2002    Deviation*            Temperature
Location        Total    Total     From Avg.         Maximum    Minimum	
Greer            0.37    15.94         4.3B              83       44                       	              	
Columbia         1.40    18.55         0.7A              90       47
Florence         1.10    12.00         3.8B              89       47	        
Charleston       1.48    12.89         3.0B              89       50
N Myrtle Beach   1.16     8.78         6.0B              84       51
Augusta, Ga.     1.06    11.84         6.1B              86       48 
A=Above, B=Below                                                                       
                                                                      
 

Note: Weekly rainfall amounts are for the 24-hour period ending midnight Sunday.

SOIL

4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 74 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF

South Carolina river stages were below to near normal.
Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 73 degrees.


sco@water.dnr.state.sc.us
http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sco/weekly/wk051902.html