On Monday, December 30, the front moved offshore, and high pressure built into the region, with mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the 60s, up to ten degrees above normal. The above-normal temperatures continued Tuesday ahead of a cold front that moved through the area overnight. Maximum temperatures in portions of the state were up to fifteen degrees above normal, and the National Weather Service station in downtown Greenville Airport recorded a high of 67 degrees, breaking the previous daily record of a high temperature of 66 degrees, set in 1956. The front produced a few scattered, light showers across the state, with rainfall totals less than a tenth of an inch.
Behind the front, the new year started with a drier and cooler high pressure centered over the Tennessee Valley building into the area. Temperatures on Wednesday morning were in the upper 30s to low 40s and climbed into the mid-50s in the afternoon. The surface high pressure built into the forecast area and became situated over the Southeast on Thursday. The dry weather and clear skies continued through the day, with highs in the low to mid-50s. Overnight, the favorable radiational cooling conditions led to temperatures falling into the low to mid-20s by Friday morning.
On Friday, another cold front brought a reinforcing cold and dry air mass into the area that would linger through the weekend. Breezy conditions prevailed with wind gusts of up to 30 mph Friday afternoon through the evening. Colder air moved into the region, and morning temperatures dropped into the teens to mid-20s. High temperatures were 10 degrees below normal, with high temperatures in the mid- to upper 40s. Temperatures moderated slightly on Sunday, ahead of another front, with morning temperatures warmer than Saturday, but daytime temperatures struggled to reach 50 degrees across much of the state.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.8 |
| Greer Airport | 0.06 | 0.06 | -0.7 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.01 | 0.01 | -0.6 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | Trace | Trace | -0.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.00 | 0.00 | -0.8 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | Trace | Trace | -0.7 |
| Florence Airport | Trace | Trace | -0.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.00 | 0.00 | -0.5 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 0.00 | -0.5 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | Trace | Trace | -0.5 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 52 degrees. Barnwell: 49 degrees. Mullins: 48 degrees.
After the rain fell from Sunday, December 29, into early Monday, December 30, precipitation was limited throughout the remainder of the period. A few locations reported less than a tenth of an inch of rainfall. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, January 2, showed improvements in the abnormally dry (D0) conditions in the Upstate and portions of the Lowcountry. Elsewhere, drought conditions remained the same across the state.
Due to dry conditions, the 14-day average streamflow values in parts of the Central Savannah River Area and Santee River basin dropped to below-normal values. Many gauges, especially in the Midlands, reported within normal ranges, with the gauge on the Santee River near Jamestown recording flows above normal. The values at gauges in the Pee Dee River basin dropped below normal due to the continued lack of rainfall during past periods, with the gauge on the Waccamaw River near Longs now reporting below-normal values. The river height levels along the river and the tidal gauges remained below the flood stage during the period.
