WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2022

December 26, 2022 - January, 2023

WEATHER SUMMARY:

Arctic air continued to impact the region at the beginning of the period. Morning temperatures on Monday, December 26, were up to twenty degrees colder than average, with temperatures in the teens, with single digits at a couple of locations. High temperatures struggled to make it to the mid-40s, and there were unofficial reports of isolated snow flurries in parts of the Upstate and northern Midlands late Monday evening. High pressure settled into the region on Tuesday, keeping temperatures below normal and providing dry conditions that would last through most of the work week.

Temperatures dropped below freezing again on Wednesday morning as the high pressure slowly shifted offshore. A southerly flow return provided warmer air and increased moisture over the Southeast US. Maximum temperatures were closer to normal, with highs in the mid to upper 50s. By Thursday, daytime temperatures climbed into the 60s, nearly ten degrees above normal.

Low temperatures on Friday morning were above freezing for the first time in nearly a week across the state, and high temperatures rose into the upper 60s to mid-70s. The Spring-like temperatures continued through the weekend. Mostly cloudy skies were observed Friday afternoon, with scattered showers in portions of the Midlands and Upstate. Rain chances increased Friday evening into Saturday morning, with more widespread shower activity and a few thunderstorms. Early morning dense fog was reported across the state on Saturday, with visibilities less than a quarter of a mile at some locations. After the fog burned off, conditions were dry and warm, with temperatures climbing from the mid-40s to the mid-60s to start the new year.

PRECIPITATION:

SOIL TEMPERATURES:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 50 degrees. Columbia: 55 degrees. Barnwell: 49 degrees. Mullins: 57 degrees.

PRECIPITATION AND RIVER STAGES:

The period was drier than the previous periods, with widespread rainfall totals of less than half an inch recorded in the state. Most of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee measured less than a quarter of an inch of rain, and there were isolated areas of rainfall of over half an inch in the Midlands and Upstate. According to the US Drought Monitor, drought (D1) and abnormally dry (D0) conditions persisted in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions despite the recent rain.

With the lack of precipitation, the 14-day averages for stream flow gauges that had previously measured flows well above average dropped to near normal, including those on the Saluda River near Columbia and the Pacolet River near Fingerville. A few gauges on tributaries of the Saluda and Savannah rivers in the Upstate reported flows below normal. The gauges on the Little Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers also dropped to below-normal flows during the period. The river heights on all the state’s rivers were observed below the flood stage.

WATER TEMPERATURES: