WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2021

December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021

WEATHER SUMMARY:

With high pressure over the area from the previous period, the fair-weather conditions continued through the first part of the week. Morning lows rose from the mid- to upper-20s to maximum temperatures that were up to ten degrees above normal. Locations across the state reported highs in the upper-50s to mid-60s on Monday and Tuesday.

Cold air damming developed on Wednesday, with high temperatures in the Midlands and the Upstate only reaching the 40s, which were ten degrees below normal. In comparison, locations outside of the wedge of cold air had temperatures in the lower 60s. A warm front started to approach the area, increasing moisture and causing the wedge to persist across a portion of the state through the remainder of the workweek. High temperatures were a little warmer on Thursday, with highs ranging from below normal in the Upstate to above normal at the coast. As a low-pressure system lifted northeast from the Gulf Coast, skies were mostly overcast, and scattered showers continued across the region.

The State Climatology Office will complete a
South Carolina 2020 Weather in review publication over the next couple of weeks. Please check back for updated information.

As the low pressure moved across the Ohio Valley on Friday, January 1, thunderstorms developed in parts of the Central Savannah River Area, producing a funnel cloud near Clarks Hill and heavy rain in Aiken, Lexington, and Richland counties. The wedge helped reduce the threat of severe weather across parts of the northern Midlands and Upstate, where high temperatures only reached the 50s. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport reported a high of 61 degrees, while 25 miles away, the maximum temperature at the Orangeburg Airport reached 78 degrees. The NWS station at the Charleston International Airport tied the daily high-temperature record of 80 degrees, set back in 1952.

The warm temperatures continued into the weekend, with overnight lows on Saturday in the 50s and 60s and highs in the lower-60s to near 70 degrees. The cold front pushed through the Southeast and stalled near the coast on Sunday, providing dry, warm weather. As the low-pressure lifted away from the region Sunday evening, it brought more seasonable weather for the start of the new week.

PRECIPITATION:

SOIL TEMPERATURES:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 47 degrees. Columbia: 54 degrees. Barnwell: 47 degrees. Mullins: 43 degrees.

PRECIPITATION AND RIVER STAGES:

During the period, widespread totals of at least half an inch of rain fell across the Palmetto State. Most of the Midlands and areas of the Upstate recorded two or more inches of rain, with some locations in Aiken, Lexington, and Richland counties reporting over five inches of rain. Unfortunately, much of the Lowcountry, where conditions have been dry for most of the last six months, received less than half an inch of rain. Because of the heavy rainfall across the Pee Dee, Santee, and Savannah river basins, streamflow in the region rose to above normal values across the state, while the rest remained near normal. Even with the rain, though the streamflow values were high, the river heights in the upper portions of these basins remained below flood stage. However, river heights around the areas that measured the highest rainfall totals reached the minor and moderate flood stage.

The 2020 annual rainfall totals across the state were well above normal in portions of the Pee Dee and Upstate, with some stations reporting more than fifteen inches above normal. The Lowcountry areas measured slightly below normal precipitation, with totals around five inches less than normal. Some locations in the mountains reported over 100 inches of rain, including stations at Caesars Head and Jocassee, and many climate monitoring stations reported one of their wettest years on record.

WATER TEMPERATURES: