Early Wednesday morning fog reduced visibilities to "zero" at Shaw AFB in Sumter. For the rest of Wednesday, clouds began expanding into the Lowcountry around the circulation of Tropical Storm Fay, located over central Florida. By Thursday, onshore winds were gusting to 39 mph at both Charleston City and Folly Beach. Hunting Island State Park reported tidal overwash at time of high tide that resulted in property damage and disruptions to camping and travel. High winds in Beaufort County caused power failures due to falling tree limbs. Heavy rains were concentrated over the south coastal counties through Saturday but lingered into Sunday before diminishing. Rainfall totals from Wednesday through Sunday reached 5.84 inches at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station. On Saturday, most locations, north and away from the parade of coastal showers, observed a sunny, warm afternoon under bright blue skies. The week ended with a threat of a decaying tropical feature returning from the southwest with more rainfall. The state average temperature for the period was two degrees below normal.
The highest official temperature reported was 95 degrees at Walhalla, Sandy Springs, and Clinton on August 19. The lowest official temperature reported was 58 degrees at Cheraw on the morning of August 18. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.80 inches at Walterboro ending at 7:00 a.m. on August 23. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.6 inches.
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Total Total from Avg
Greer 0.00 21.86 -12.0
Columbia 0.47 27.64 -6.4
Orangeburg 0.21 25.39 -8.7
Charlotte, NC 0.00 21.97 -6.7
Augusta, GA 0.89 26.05 -4.9
Florence 0.01 28.07 -2.9
N Myrtle Beach 0.28 32.03 2.9
Charleston 3.49 27.15 -7.8
Savannah, GA 3.26 30.36 -4.3
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 79 degrees.
South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 85 degrees.
