A weak high-pressure system led to a somewhat stagnant weather pattern across the state at the beginning of the week. Rain during the early morning hours on Monday, July 2, produced rainfall amounts of 1.96 and 1.82 inches reported by two CoCoRaHS stations (SC-OC-57 and SC-OC-15) near West Union in Oconee County. A report of a funnel cloud was relayed to broadcast media the same morning just north of Dewees Island in Charleston County. Temperatures remained above normal, and high temperatures on Tuesday, July 3, were in the mid-to-upper 90's across most of the state. With the increased moisture, heat indices up to 105 degrees were observed in the Midlands. Thunderstorms formed by the afternoon sea breeze caused downed trees and power outages in the southeastern portion of Greenwood County.
A trough approached the state from the Atlantic Ocean on July 4, providing more moisture and increasing the chances for rain during the late morning, especially along the coast. This set-up led to significant rainfall in Charleston and Dorchester counties. The Charleston 5.9 ESE CoCoRaHS Station (SC-CR-114) reported 3.20 inches of rain, and a station near Shadowmoss recorded 3.66 inches of rain in about 3 hours. The National Weather Service station in Downtown Charleston set a new daily record rainfall total of 2.34 inches, breaking the old record of 2.24 inches set in 1914. Another round of overnight thunderstorms on Thursday, July 5, impacted Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties, producing more than an inch of rain in some locations.
On Friday, July 6, a cold front and boundary interacted to create rain and thunderstorms in portions of the Upstate and Midlands. Pea-sized hail was reported in Jefferson, and wind damage was observed in other parts of Kershaw County. Tropical Depression #3 formed off the coast of the Carolinas later Friday afternoon. On Saturday, July 7, high pressure, with drier air, moved into the state behind the cold front, and some locations in the Upstate struggled to hit a high of 80 degrees. The stations in Caesars Head and Clemson only reported high temperatures of 76 degrees. Closer to the coast, thunderstorms formed during the afternoon along the cold front. Three people were injured during the afternoon from a lightning strike on the Isle of Palms beach. Lightning also struck a car on James Island, and there was a report of heavy rain (3.90 inches) associated with the same thunderstorm.
The dry air contributed to some slightly cool minimum temperatures on Sunday, July 8, across the state. Some stations had low temperatures that were up to 4 degrees below normal. Greenville-Spartanburg Airport had a low of 65 degrees and an automated weather station atop Sassafras Mountain recorded a low temperature of 55 degrees. Tropical Depression #3 became Tropical Storm Chris, with a center located about 150 miles south of Cape Hatteras, NC, and maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, with higher gusts. Tropical Storm Chris was forecasted to strengthen to a potential hurricane as it continued to meander off the coast. The storm produced a south longshore current and swells along coastal Horry and Georgetown counties.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)
The highest official temperature reported was 99 degrees at Columbia USC Campus on July 3.
The lowest official temperature reported was 58 degrees at Jocassee July 8.
The heaviest official 24-hour precipitation reported was 3.56 inches at the Newberry station, during the period ending at 7:00 a.m. on July 7.
The state average precipitation for the seven-day period was 0.8 inches.
| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 1.19 | 31.34 | 8.3 |
| Greer Airport | 1.11 | 29.99 | 5.6 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.57 | 21.32 | -0.2 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.02 | 16.66 | -5.8 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.54 | 20.76 | -3.5 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.80 | 24.53 | 1.2 |
| Florence Airport | 0.60 | 23.24 | 2.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.14 | 23.75 | 0.3 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 1.63 | 27.24 | 3.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.27 | 17.93 | -5.6 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 79 degrees. Columbia: 80 degrees. Barnwell: 74 degrees. Mullins: 69 degrees.
Most river levels were running at or above normal across the Upstate and the Lowland. Some of the rivers in the Midlands and Pee Dee regions, including the Edisto River near Orangeburg, Black Creek at Hartsville and McBee, and the Little Pee Dee near Galivants Ferry were reporting below normal streamflows.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 85.1 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 83.3 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 84.2 degrees.
