Afternoon high temperatures hovered near or over the 100-degree mark all week. Poorly organized thunderstorms brought isolated rains for the coastal zones and parts of central and northern South Carolina. On Monday, Clinton reported a July 4th holiday shade temperature of 101 degrees. Cheraw's heat was interrupted by a mid-afternoon thunderstorm that brought a welcomed 1.11 inches of rain. Tuesday began quite warm with a daybreak temperature that had only cooled to 82 degrees at Myrtle Beach and 80 degrees at both Columbia airports. Shaw AFB baked under a maximum temperature of 101 degrees and nearby McEntire ANG AP experienced similar conditions with an even 100 degrees. The Columbia Metro AP Tuesday high temperature of 103 degrees set a new date record. A narrow line of storms at around 4:53 p.m. dropped the temperature at Columbia's Hamilton-Owens AP 19 degrees in one hour. Drying west winds on Wednesday sent the mercury to 96 degrees at the Greenville-Spartanburg AP, Darlington and Sullivan's Island. The Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station recorded a thunderstorm wind gust of 55 mph at 6:14 p.m. Widely scattered storms left 0.59 inches of rain at Springfield, 0.54 inches at Clarks Hill and Orangeburg, 0.49 inches at Hartsville and 0.46 inches at Edgefield. A layer of slightly cooler air and mid-level cloudiness arrived on Thursday. The sunrise temperature at Johnston was a refreshing 69 degrees. Another set of thunderstorms began forming during the late afternoon hours for the Piedmont and eastward into the Pee Dee. The Florence Regional AP noted damaging winds of 64 mph during a storm at 5:26 p.m. Hailstones measuring 1.50 inches in diameter were observed near Jonesville in Cherokee County and at 9:54 p.m., a peak wind of 68 mph was recorded in heavy rain at the Laurens County AP (KLUX). Clarks Hill took the honors for Thursday's highest temperature with 101 degrees. Rainfall amounts measured on Friday morning included 1.62 inches at Longtown, 1.10 inches at Winnsboro and 0.75 inches at Mullins. At 5:00 p.m. on Friday, The Columbia Metro AP, Hamilton-Owens AP and McEntire ANG AP all shared a temperature of 102 degrees. Widely spaced storms produced rainfall amounts of 1.05 inches at Chesterfield, 0.78 inches at Darlington, 0.51 inches at Galivant's Ferry and 0.41 inches at Walterboro. The Sandhill 24-hour open pan evaporation moved to a season high 0.52 inches. Punishing heat and humidity were observed at Hilton Head Island on Saturday with a 2:50 p.m. temperature of 104 degrees and a calculated heat index value of 122 degrees. This observation was quickly followed by a thunderstorm that collapsed the temperature by 31 degrees in two hours. At the summit of Sassafras Mountain, Saturday's high temperature was a pleasant 82 degrees. On Sunday, Georgetown and Beaufort reached 98 degrees. Surf water measurements at Springmaid Pier spiked to their highest summer value of 86.7 degrees at 5:06 p.m. Drifting thunderstorms formed and dissipated into midnight. Newberry received just 0.05 inches of rain during the week.
The highest official temperature reported was 104 degrees at Columbia Metro AP on July 8 and at Hilton Head Island AP on July 9. The lowest official temperature reported was 58 degrees at Jocassee 8 WNW on July 4. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.00 inches at Lugoff ending at 7:00 a.m. on July 8. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 0.4 inches. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was six degrees above the long-term average.
| Weekly | Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson AP | 0.00 | 15.57 | -7.7 |
| Greer AP | 0.25 | 19.01 | -4.7 |
| Charlotte, NC AP | 0.47 | 18.58 | -3.2 |
| Columbia Metro AP | 0.25 | 16.61 | -6.2 |
| Orangeburg AP | 1.11 | 17.23 | -7.4 |
| Augusta, GA Bush AP | 0.15 | 21.75 | -1.8 |
| Florence AP | 0.91 | 26.32 | 4.8 |
| N Myrtle Beach AP | 1.72 | 20.98 | -2.8 |
| Charleston AP | 0.28 | 24.17 | 0.1 |
| Savannah, GA AP | 0.06 | 29.69 | 5.8 |
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton 81 degrees. Columbia 86 degrees.
South Carolina river stages were near to much below normal. Charleston Harbor reported a water temperature of 85 degrees. Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach reported a surf water temperature of 84 degrees.
