SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

January 20 - 26, 2003

WEATHER SUMMARY

On both Monday and Tuesday afternoons, temperatures warmed into the 60's and 70's. A cold front on Wednesday became stationary and positioned itself across the northern half of the state. Light precipitation in the form of sleet affected parts of the Pee Dee and north coastal counties. On Thursday an upper air feature dove southeast with snow showers. After reforming as a surface low along the South Carolina coast, widespread snows began. Clover, located in York County, reported nine inches while Hilton Head observed flurries. This was the largest statewide snow event since March 1980. State, County offices and schools were closed while the Department of Public Safety reported nearly one thousand vehicle accidents. Arctic cold followed and by Friday morning many sites set daily low temperature records. Steady northwest winds created wind chill values into the single digits. Sunny weather returned for Saturday with temperatures rising to near 50 degrees. Passing clouds early Sunday produced scattered snow flurries before clearing. The average statewide temperature for the period was six degrees below normal.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

The highest temperature reported was 73 degrees at Allendale on January 21. The lowest temperature was 0 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of January 24. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.54"at Charleston AP ending at 7:00 a.m. on January 23. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.3."

                    Precipitation
               Period   2003   Deviation*     Temperature
Location        Total  Total    From Avg.    Maximum   Minimum	
Greer            0.22   0.98        2.9B        62       13
Columbia         0.18   0.45        3.5B        68       13
Florence         0.28   0.58        2.9B        69       13      
Charleston       0.76   1.04        2.4B        72       17
N Myrtle Beach   0.05   0.86        2.2B        68       16
Augusta, Ga.     0.54   0.77        3.0B        70       14
A=Above, B=Below                                                                       
                                                                       

Note: Weekly rainfall amounts are for the 24-hour period ending midnight Sunday.

SOIL

4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 43 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF

South Carolina river stages were reported near normal.
Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 44 degrees.