SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

July 18 - July 24, 2005

WEATHER SUMMARY

Hot, humid conditions helped fuel afternoon thunderstorms Monday through Friday. Tuesday's storms produced 2.29 inches of rain in just one hour at the National Weather Service Office, Columbia AP. Heat index values of 112 degrees were observed at Charleston and Eastover's McEntire airfield on Thursday. Intense displays of lightning with large hail were reported in Berkeley County Thursday evening with flash flooding occurring in Dorchester and Charleston counties. Subsiding air over the weekend resulted in mostly sunny, dry weather. For the period, the state average temperature was one degree above normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 98 degrees at Johnston on July 18, at Cheraw on July 19 and at Orangeburg on July 20. The lowest official temperature reported was 63 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of July 24. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.20 inches at Dillon ending at 7:00 am on July 22. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.5 inches.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

                           
                            Precipitation                    
                       Weekly   Jan 1  Deviation     
                        Total   Total   From Avg
        Greer           0.06    34.4        4.8
      Columbia           4.34    29.6        1.1  
    Orangeburg           0.21    24.4       -3.7
 Charlotte, NC           0.00    24.3       -0.6	
   Augusta, GA           0.78    32.8        6.2
      Florence           0.45    24.1       -1.4           
  Myrtle Beach           0.00    16.3       -7.4
    Charleston           0.39    23.1       -5.1      
  Savannah, GA  	 0.02    26.8       -0.7







Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL: 4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 83 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 84 degrees.