SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

October 17 - October 23, 2005

WEATHER SUMMARY

Temperatures near Monday's sunrise fell to their coolest of the Fall season. Sheltered sites within the Foothills and Piedmont reported minimums in the 30's. Sunny, clear conditions were observed during the work week. Daily afternoon high temperatures reached well into the 80's. Scattered thunderstorms developed on Friday with reports of large hail in Lee, Clarendon, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. A cold front brought cooler weather for the weekend. By Sunday evening the expanding cloud canopy from Florida's Hurricane Wilma was covering South Carolina's southern coast. For the period, the state average temperature was four degrees above normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 90 degrees at Orangeburg on October 19. The lowest official temperature reported was 36 degrees at Lake Bowen on the morning of October 17. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.90 inches at Givhans ending at 7:00 a.m. on October 22. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.1 inches.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

                           
                            Precipitation                    
                       Weekly   Jan 1  Deviation     
                        Total   Total   From Avg
        Greer            0.00    44.5        2.9
      Columbia           0.24    39.0       -2.3  
    Orangeburg           0.24    35.9       -5.3
 Charlotte, NC           0.00    33.6       -2.5	
   Augusta, GA           0.00    41.6        3.7
      Florence           0.15    36.5       -1.5           
  Myrtle Beach           0.00    36.4       -2.2
    Charleston           0.05    38.7       -6.3      
  Savannah, GA  	 0.44    40.1       -3.6






Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 71 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 69 degrees.