Widespread, dense fog blanketed much of the state on Monday, January 2, with visibilities reduced to less than a quarter of a mile at many reporting stations. The warmer-than-normal temperatures from the previous period continued under mostly sunny skies, and highs reached the mid-60s to low 70s. Moisture increased across the Southeast US and combined with daytime temperatures in the upper 60s to mid-70s to help the development of scattered thunderstorms late Tuesday afternoon.
A robust cold front started from the west on Wednesday morning, and, ahead of it, additional warm air and moisture streamed into the region, creating severe weather. There were five confirmed tornadoes from the storms on January 4, including one EF1 tornado that touched down near Woodford and four EF0 tornadoes: one in Aiken County, one in Calhoun County, and two in Lexington County. National Weather Service survey teams also confirmed a microburst near Blackville, winds up to 90 mph, and another northwest of Conway. Event rainfall totals ending Thursday morning exceeded two inches in parts of the Midlands and Upstate, with localized reports of over four inches of rain in portions of Abbeville, Anderson, Greenwood, and Greenville counties. Flash flooding was reported in downtown Greenville, prompting high water rescues.
The cold front continued to push offshore on Thursday, and cooler, drier air moved into the area. With high pressure in place, the remainder of the period was marked with mostly sunny skies, and temperatures returned to near normal, with morning temperatures in the 30s and highs in the upper 50s and low 60s.
(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 | 3.73 | 3.73 | 2.5 |
| Greer Airport | 3.94 | 3.94 | 2.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 2.19 | 2.19 | 1.2 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.20 | 1.20 | 0.2 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.75 | 0.75 | -0.4 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.53 | 1.53 | 0.5 |
| Florence Airport | 0.75 | 0.75 | -0.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.14 | 0.14 | -0.6 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.34 | 0.34 | -0.5 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.43 | 0.43 | -0.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 47 degrees. Columbia: 55 degrees. Barnwell: 47 degrees. Mullins: 51 degrees.
Most of the rain during the period resulted from the cold front passage in the middle of the week. Areas north and west of the Interstate 95 corridor recorded over half an inch of rain, with widespread rainfall totals of two or more inches north of the Fall Line. There were isolated pockets of amounts between three and four inches, mainly in Abbeville, Anderson, Greenwood, and Greenville counties. Unfortunately, most of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee measured less than a quarter of an inch of rain. 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.
The 14-day averages for stream flow gauges increased across northern portions of the state due to heavy rain falling in the area. Most gauges on main branches and tributaries of the Santee, Savannah, and Wateree rivers measured flows above average, with a few gauges reporting stream flows well above average. With the lack of beneficial rain in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee rivers, some gauges reported below-normal flows. The river heights on all the state’s rivers were observed below the flood stage; however, some rivers approached the action stage due to the heavy rain.
