A bitter morning started on Monday, January 22, as morning lows in the single digits were in the Upstate to low 20s at the coast, up to twenty degrees below normal. Despite the cold morning, daytime high temperatures reached the upper 40s to low 50s. Cloudy conditions and cooler temperatures were reported on Tuesday, especially across the Piedmont and the Upstate, due to a weakening but persistent wedge isolated to scattered showers. A warm front positioned near the coast produced scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. The chance for scattered showers continued on Wednesday as a warm front moved north, funneling warmer air into the area. High temperatures in the Coastal Plain reached the mid to upper 70s, up to fifteen degrees above normal.
On Thursday, January 25, a lingering frontal boundary produced scattered showers and thunderstorms, and unseasonably warm temperatures continued, with highs and lows up to twenty degrees above normal, temperatures more like those recorded in mid-April instead of the end of January. The National Weather Service station at the Charleston International Airport recorded a daily high temperature of 83 degrees on Friday, which broke the previous daily record of 80 degrees set in 1949; this also tied the record highest January temperature set on January 13, 1950. The combination of the warm temperatures, humid conditions, and water temperatures led to dense fog reported for inland locations of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee and across the coastal waters.
A strong cold front moved through the region on Saturday, producing severe storms with strong winds and heavy rain. A line of storms caused wind damage across portions of Newberry, Richland, and Saluda counties. The NWS Columbia Office confirmed that some of the damage northeast of Saluda was produced by an EF1 tornado with winds of 100 mph. Another EF1 tornado, with peak winds of 90 mph, caused damage near Pontiac in Richland County. Behind the front, a dry and cooler air mass spread into the region on Sunday, with near-normal temperatures and breezy conditions.
(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 | 2.98 | 8.71 | 5.0 |
| Greer Airport | 3.67 | 10.27 | 6.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 2.59 | 7.27 | 4.1 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.44 | 2.58 | -0.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.18 | 3.12 | -0.5 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.27 | 2.70 | -0.8 |
| Florence Airport | 0.07 | 2.64 | -0.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.11 | 1.05 | -1.6 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.03 | 1.91 | -1.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.22 | 3.08 | 0.1 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 52 degrees. Columbia: 59 degrees. Barnwell: 55 degrees. Mullins: Not Available.
Most of the rainfall during the period fell north and west of the Fall Line, with two to five inches of rain reported in some portions of Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties. Rainfall totals between half an inch and two inches were recorded across the Midlands, while totals less than a tenth of an inch were measured across the Lowcountry and Pee Dee. All areas of drought designations were removed on the latest release of the US Drought Monitor (USDM) map, with only abnormally dry conditions (D0) confined to Abbeville, Anderson, and McCormick counties.
With precipitation falling in the Piedmont and Upstate, the 14-day average streamflow values, especially along streams and tributaries within the Broad, Catawba, and Saluda river basins, continued to report above-normal flows. Gauges across the rest of the state recorded normal to above-normal streamflow values as the water moved through the river basins. Some river height gauges across the Midlands and Pee Dee started to rise into minor and moderate flood stages by the end of the period.
