High pressure dominated the state's weather for the entire week. Warm and very dry conditions started off the week following the weekend's offshore passage of Hurricane Jose. Monday's low temperature was 58 degrees at Table Rock. Monday's and Tuesday's high temperature was 90 degrees at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station and also at the Columbia Metro Airport. Both the Greenville Downtown Airport and the Clemson-Oconee County Airport reported a trace of rain Monday. There were no reports of rain Tuesday.
Wednesday's high temperature reached 97 degrees at the Orangeburg 2 COOP site. Diurnal heating triggered scattered afternoon rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms. A CoCoRaHS observer in Irmo reported hearing thunder Wednesday and a downpour that produced 0.41 inches of rain. CoCoRaHS observers in Beaufort County reported distant thunder and two hundredths of an inch of light rain.
Thursday afternoon's diurnally forced convective cells were a bit more productive than Wednesday's; however, the stations reporting no rain still outnumbered those stations that did receive measurable rainfall. The Clemson-Oconee County Airport reported 0.79 inches of rain. The Columbia Metro Airport reported receiving 0.42 inches of rain, and a high temperature of 95 degrees. The Andrews Coop Site reported a 24-hour rainfall amount, ending Friday morning, of 1.38 inches.
Hot and dry conditions continued on Friday with high pressure firmly anchored over the state. After a morning low of 52 degrees at Jocassee, high temperatures across the Midland's reached the low 90's under clear skies. Friday was nearly rain-free. The Lake Greenwood COOP site reported 0.11 inches of rain. A CoCoRaHS observer on Wadmalaw Island reported 1.32 inches of rain from a passing afternoon sea breeze thunderstorm.
The weekend's low temperature was 59 degrees on Saturday at Cedar Creek. The Columbia-Owens Metro Airport and the Columbia Hamilton-Owens Downton Airport reached 92 degrees on Saturday. No rain was reported during the weekend. Hurricane Maria passed safely offshore during the weekend. Scattered cloudiness from the hurricane's spiral bands could be seen over the eastern half of the state on Sunday. The North Myrtle Beach Airport recorded 16.1 mph northeast winds under partly cloudy skies Sunday afternoon.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)
The highest official temperature reported was 97 degrees at Orangeburg 2 on September 21.
The lowest official temperature reported was 52 degrees at Jocassee 8 WNW on September 22.
The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.38 inches at Andrews on September 22.
The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 0.1 inches.
| Weekly | Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.00 | 42.16 | 9.5 |
| Greer Airport | 0.00 | 42.11 | 6.9 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 37.68 | 6.5 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.44 | 41.30 | 6.5 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.00 | 32.32 | -4.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 38.66 | 5.3 |
| Florence Airport | 0.08 | 35.70 | 2.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.02 | 39.89 | -0.6 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 45.10 | 4.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 47.49 | 9.4 |
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton 75 degrees. Columbia 79 degrees. Barnwell 70 degrees.
Most South Carolina river stages were normal to above normal.
Charleston Harbor water temperature: 81 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 80 degrees.
