On Monday, January 3, an intense low pressure moving off to the northeast and high pressure to the west created a strong gradient wind across the region. Sustained winds were between 20 and 30 mph, with higher gusts. The entire state was under a wind advisory through Monday afternoon, and gale warnings were posted for coastal waters. Numerous locations in South Carolina experienced wind gusts over 50 mph, producing widespread tree damage and power outages. There were also a few reports of minor structural damage. Some of the highest gusts occurred in the Lowcountry, where several reports of wind gusts were in the 65-70 mph range, including a 70-mph gust at the SCDNR Marine Resources Research Institute on James Island. Daily high temperatures in the 60s were reported early in the morning. Temperatures fell throughout the day as a much cooler air mass settled into the region behind the departing low. By Tuesday morning, temperatures had dropped into the upper 20s to low 30s, and daytime temperatures only reached the upper 40s in the Upstate and the mid-50s near the coast.
The high pressure weakened by midweek, and clouds built into the region ahead of an approaching cold front. Some scattered showers produced rainfall totals less than a quarter of an inch across the state. Temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday were warmer than Tuesday, with lows in the upper 30s to low 40s and highs in the mid-50s to low 60s. The mostly sunny skies on Thursday morning gave way to clouds by the evening as the cold front moved through the state.
Behind the front, high pressure built into the region again, with cooler and drier conditions on Friday and Saturday. Temperatures on Friday were more seasonable, with overnight lows in the mid-20s to upper 30s and high temperatures in the mid-40s to mid-50s. Despite the abundant sunshine, maximum temperatures on Saturday struggled to reach 50 degrees in many locations away from the coast.
Southerly flow on Sunday brought warmer air and moisture back into the region as another cold front approached the state. Temperatures rose from the low 40s to reach the upper 60s in locations south of the Fall Line. Showers started to cross into the area by the evening hours, sometimes producing heavy rain. With a cold and dry air mass, high pressure would dominate the weather pattern for the new work week.
On Tuesday, January 4, the Charleston Harbor tidal gauge recorded a value of 7.7 ft. mean lower low water (MLLW). Coastal flooding was reported across making many low-lying areas of the South Carolina coast. The gauge recorded 7.79 ft. MLLW on Wednesday morning and 7.0 ft. MLLW on Thursday.
(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 | 0.62 | 1.83 | 0.6 | |
| Greer Airport | 1.87 | 2.71 | 1.4 | |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 2.16 | 2.79 | 1.7 | |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.82 | 2.16 | 1.1 | |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.30s | 3.41s | 2.3s | |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.64 | 2.10 | 1.0 | |
| Florence Airport | 0.72 | 2.17 | 1.2 | |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.84 | 1.34 | 0.5 | |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.16 | 0.43 | -0.5 | |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.42 | 0.42 | -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: 57 degrees. Barnwell: 50 degrees. Mullins: 40 degrees.
Most of the rainfall reported during the period fell overnight on Sunday, January 2, and into the morning of Monday, January 3. Most CoCoRaHS observers recorded total rain amounts ranging between one and three inches from this event. Areas designated in either moderate (D1) or severe drought (D2) by the United States Drought Monitor received additional rain, helping ease some of the dry conditions. Little rain fell during the remainder of the period. Totals ranged from a tenth of an inch near the coast and closer to an inch in the Upstate.
Additional rain during the period across North Carolina and South Carolina helped improve some streamflow values in the region. Streamflow returned to normal conditions on the Great Pee Dee River at Pee Dee. However, some of the streamflow gauges along the streams and tributaries of the Great Pee Dee and Wateree rivers continued to report below normal flows. The. The local rainfall kept the moderate drought and dry conditions from worsening in the Pee Dee. Elsewhere across the state, streamflow values returned to near normal conditions, with some above-normal flows reported along the Upper Santee and Savannah rivers. The Edisto River near Givhans Ferry and the Santee River near Jamestown recorded heights above minor stage during the latter half of the period. All other rivers reported heights below the flood stage.
