Arctic-sourced cold dominated the weekly weather with temperatures well below the long term average. Low temperatures on Monday morning ranged from 16 degrees at Caesars Head to 30 degrees at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station. On Tuesday morning, the few beachfront sites along the southern coast that had yet to record a freeze were added to the list. Florence set a date record minimum of 17 degrees on Tuesday and again on Wednesday with 13 degrees. Columbia set a record on Wednesday morning with 16 degrees. It was 12 degrees at the Kingstree AP and 24 degrees at the Hilton Head AP. On Wednesday night, light snow was observed within parts of Charleston, Dorchester and Colleton counties. Fair weather was reported on Thursday and Friday before rainy weather began developing over eastern portions of the state early Saturday morning. The Georgetown AP received 0.50 inches of rain, Jamestown 0.35 inches. Heavier rains began over the Upstate before sunrise on Sunday, ahead of the week's second cold surge. Lines of showers, moving west to east would bring rainfall amounts of 0.76 inches at Walhalla and 0.69 inches at Myrtle Beach. Mixing of the icy air and available moisture helped produce a three-inch blanket of snow on Caesars Head. West winds following the front's passing gusted to 52 mph at the Lake Marion Dam, and 47 mph at the Lake Murray Flotilla Island station. At 10:24 p.m., and for the second time in a week, Charleston reported snow flurries. By midnight, the grip of freezing air had made its way to the state's southernmost coast. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was thirteen degrees below normal.
The highest official temperature reported was 61 degrees at Givhans on December 10. The lowest official temperature reported was 9 degrees at Pelion on December 8. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.80 inches at Anderson ending at 8:00 a.m. on December 12. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.4 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Total Total from Avg
Greer 0.62 42.24 -5.6
Anderson 0.65 38.77 -5.6
Columbia 0.15 34.67 -11.4
Orangeburg 0.56 38.53 -7.6
Charlotte, NC 0.32 35.83 -5.7
Augusta, GA 0.14 28.05 -14.5
Florence 0.47 43.45 1.0
N Myrtle Beach 1.08 40.74 -2.9
Charleston 0.42 55.51 6.1
Savannah, GA 0.29 35.07 -12.7
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 50 degrees, Charleston 52 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 49 degrees.
