It was another week of sweltering summer heat across South Carolina. Daily afternoon high temperatures were observed in the upper 90's to lower 100's. A few isolated thundershowers formed just inland along a seabreeze front Tuesday with light amounts of rainfall. On Wednesday morning, McEntire AP near Eastover reported dense fog with visibilities of zero. Severe weather came Friday afternoon on a southward moving boundary of slightly cooler air. Violent thunderstorms with golf ball-sized hail pelted portions of Aiken, Lexington, Calhoun, and Orangeburg counties. There was a public report of a tornado at Singleton near St. Matthews. The only noticeable effects from the weekend's airmass change were morning temperatures cooling to near normal and a shift in the drying surface winds. The state average temperature for the period was seven degrees above normal.
The highest official temperature reported was 106 degrees at Johnston on August 15. The lowest official temperature reported was 61 degrees at Lake Bowen on the morning of August 19. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.37 inches at Summerville ending at 7:00 a.m. on August 16. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.1 inches.
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Deviation
Total Total From Avg
Greer 0.00 20.52 -12.7
Columbia 0.36 20.51 -12.7
Orangeburg 0.03 26.52 -6.7
Charlotte, NC 0.00 19.89 -8.2
Augusta, GA 0.57 22.11 -8.2
Florence 0.29 24.06 -6.1
N Myrtle Beach 0.00 19.08 -9.2
Charleston 0.17 20.80 -13.0
Savannah, GA 0.01 26.67 -6.8
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 87 degrees.
South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at S Capers Island were reported at 87 degrees.
For additional information contact tylerw@dnr.sc.gov or by calling (803) 734-9100.
