WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2011

June 20, 2011 - June 26, 2011

WEATHER SUMMARY:

At 2:00 p.m. on Monday, the thermometers at Columbia, Orangeburg and Charleston had reached 99 degrees. At 4:00 p.m., Shaw AFB reported 101 degrees with a relative humidity value of 23 percent. Ft. Moultrie recorded a Monday afternoon high temperature of 103 degrees, followed by a Tuesday low temperature of just 82 degrees. The wilting heat caused a two-day open pan evaporation water loss of 0.92 inches at the Sandhill Experiment Station. The three consecutive days of 100-degree observations at Charleston AP had not occurred at that location since the end of July, 1999. The official start of astronomical summer arrived on Tuesday with the USC Columbia Campus and Cades both recording 104 degrees. Late evening thunderstorms on Tuesday included vivid lightning, a wind gust of 48 mph and storm-driven rains of 1.52 inches at the McEntire ANG AP. The Columbia Hamilton-Owens AP recorded 90 degrees at 10:00 p.m. before thunderstorms passed and lowered the 11:00 p.m. temperature to 72 degrees. On Wednesday evening, the Greenville-Spartanburg AP measured winds gusting to 58 mph. Holly Hill and Lake City were just shy of the century mark with 99 degrees. Long Creek received 2.04 inches during an intense rainstorm. Smoke was observed across the coastal plain on Thursday. At 10:00 a.m., the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station indicated a runway visibility of 1.5 miles in smoke and haze. Thunderstorms moving over the Conway AP produced winds of 51 mph that flipped several planes. A rain gage at the Turkey Creek USGS site in North Charleston measured 1.97 inches of rain. Winds gusted to 62 mph during a Friday evening thunderstorm at Darlington AP. The South Carolina Mountains cooled into the lower 60's on Saturday morning. Bamberg and Barnwell were back in the heat Sunday afternoon with 101 degrees. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was four degrees above normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 105 degrees at Lake Wateree and Witherbee on June 21. The lowest official temperature reported was 61 degrees at Table Rock and Long Creek on June 25. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.06 inches at McCormick ending at 7:00 a.m. on June 25. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.6 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

                                                 
                             Precipitation                                                     
                       Weekly   Jan 1   Departure     
                        Total   Total   from Avg
         Greer           0.34   22.54     -2.9
      Anderson           1.46   18.14     -5.8
      Columbia           1.00   18.21     -5.3
    Orangeburg           0.41   16.85     -6.7
 Charlotte, NC           0.62   18.64     -2.9
   Augusta, GA           0.75   17.87     -5.0
      Florence           0.02   13.88     -7.0
N Myrtle Beach           0.33   16.13     -3.0
    Charleston           1.91   13.32     -9.4
  Savannah, GA           0.11   14.49     -7.7
     
                                               
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 80 degrees, Charleston 86 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 84 degrees.