Monday's pre-dawn rains filled the USGS gage at McTier Creek, south of Monetta, with 2.59 inches of rain. Batesburg measured 1.32 inches. Billowing thunderclouds during the afternoon hours released rainfall amounts of 1.60 inches at the Charleston AP and 0.83 inches at Walterboro. A frontal passage followed by northeast surface winds lowered Monday's afternoon temperatures by around ten degrees for Tuesday afternoon. The Greenville-Spartanburg AP 1:00 p.m. Monday temperature of 81 degrees was replaced by a value of 69 degrees at the same hour on Tuesday. At 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Folly Beach reported northeast winds gusting to 30 mph. Continental-sourced high pressure (30.32 inches of mercury at 10:00 a.m. at Greenville and Rock Hill) delivered sunny mild conditions for Wednesday. After a sunrise start of 55 degrees, Hartsville warmed to a maximum of 81 degrees. A sunny Thursday sent the mercury to 85 degrees for Saluda, Columbia and Beaufort. Richland County observed a full "Harvest" moon rise at 7:26 p.m. Clarks Hill and Sandhill warmed to 90 degrees on Friday afternoon. Clouds began increasing on Saturday ahead of another boundary of cooler air and areas of heavy rain concentrated across the Upstate. Twenty-four hour amounts ending Sunday morning included 3.07 inches at Ninety-Nine Islands, 2.97 inches at Chesnee and 2.12 inches at Hunts Bridge. Chesterfield received a generous 1.41 inches of rain. With the exception of the southern coastal counties, most of South Carolina was sunny on Sunday. Orangeburg reached a warm 84 degrees while a cloudy McClellanville only made it to 76 degrees. The Autumnal Equinox occurred at 4:44 p.m., and with it, the astronomical end of summer 2013. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was two degrees above the long-term average.
The highest official temperature reported was 95 degrees at Hardeeville on September 16. The lowest official temperature reported was 52 degrees at Caesars Head on September 18 and at Chesterfield and Longtown on September 19. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.75 inches at Gaffney ending at 7:00 a.m. on September 22. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 1.0 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Anderson AP 0.97 54.63 21.7
Greer AP 1.36 55.73 20.7
Charlotte, NC AP 2.74 38.21 7.3
Columbia Metro AP 0.82 44.41 9.8
Orangeburg AP 0.72 48.19 12.1
Augusta, GA Bush AP 0.60 46.06 12.9
Florence AP 0.54 47.08 13.9
N Myrtle Beach AP 0.36 41.14 1.0
Charleston AP 1.61 48.77 8.4
Savannah, GA AP 0.57 48.31 10.5
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 78 degrees, Charleston 77 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were near normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 78 degrees.
