A low-pressure system pushed through the state on Monday, January 6, bringing breezy conditions and showers—some locations recorded between a tenth and a quarter of an inch. The breezy conditions led to a wind advisory for the Midlands through the evening hours as wind gusts up to 40 mph were recorded. Cold and dry air filtered into the region behind the front, and high temperatures on Tuesday were up to ten degrees below normal, reaching the mid-40s after being in the 60s on Monday.
The unseasonably cold and dry weather continued on Wednesday. A reinforcing cold front pushed through the state late on Wednesday, and low temperatures on Thursday morning dropped into the teens in the Upstate to the mid-20s near the coast. Maximum temperatures on Thursday were up to fifteen degrees below normal in portions of the Coastal Plain, with high temperatures in the low 40s.
With a cold and dry air mass in place, an impactful winter storm moved through the area on Friday, yielding a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain across much of the state. Winter weather watches and warnings were up for areas not along the immediate coast. A very intense band of precipitation developed before the approaching system early Friday, causing snow and sleet in parts of the Upstate and Central Savannah River Area. Travel conditions deteriorated quickly as the wintry mix continued. Sleet was reported in parts of the Coastal Plain. Temperatures warmed slightly throughout Friday, causing the snow and sleet to transition to freezing rain. The freezing rain continued overnight, and by Saturday morning, snowfall totals ranged from a trace to 3.5 inches, and there was up to a quarter of an inch of ice accumulation. Under sunny, albeit cool conditions, the snow and ice melted by Saturday afternoon. High pressure kept cold and dry air over the area through the remainder of the period.
(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 | 1.03 | 1.07 | -0.5 |
| Greer Airport | 1.07 | 1.13 | -0.6 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.77 | 0.78 | -0.7 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.62 | 0.62 | -0.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.86 | 0.86 | -0.7 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.64 | 1.64 | 0.1 |
| Florence Airport | 0.46 | 0.46 | -0.8 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.20 | 0.20 | -0.9 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.45 | 0.45 | -0.8 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.26 | 0.26 | -0.9 |
| *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: 48 degrees. Barnwell: 40 degrees. Mullins: 34 degrees.
Conditions were cold enough to allow snow to fall early on Friday, January 10, in portions of the Upstate and the Central Savannah River Area. Snowfall totals ranged from a trace in western Lexington County to 3.5 inches at Caesars Head in Greenville County. The snow transitioned to freezing rain by mid-morning, with ice accumulation totals of up to 0.25 inches in isolated locations by Saturday morning. Most of the state recorded precipitation totals between half an inch and an inch, though locations in the Pee Dee region recorded less than half an inch. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, January 9, showed improvements in the Upstate, removing the abnormally dry (D0) conditions in locations north of Interstate 85. Elsewhere, drought conditions remained the same across the state.
Even with precipitation during the period, the 14-day average streamflow values in parts of the Central Savannah River Area and Pee Dee basins remained below normal, with the gauge on the Waccamaw River near Longs now reporting below normal values. Many gauges continued to report values within the normal ranges, with the gauge on the Santee River near Jamestown recording flows above normal. The river height levels along the river and the tidal gauges remained below the flood stage during the period.
