The week started calm on Monday, January 27, with morning temperatures ranging from the upper 30s to mid-40s and climbing into the mid-50s to low 60s by the afternoon. A few lingering showers moved out of the area, as drier air settled into the region. A weak high pressure provided clear skies, allowing overnight temperatures to drop into the 30s across much of the state on Tuesday morning. Stations in the Upstate recorded slight warmer than normal highs, including the 59-degree maximum reported by the National Weather Service (NWS) station in Laurens.
As the high pressure shifted offshore on Wednesday, a low-pressure system developed along the northern Gulf of Mexico bringing a return to unsettled weather and increased precipitation across the state. The combination of the widespread cloud cover and rain kept daytime temperatures in the low to mid-50s. The low tracked across Florida and was off the Southeast coast by Thursday morning. Some CoCoRaHS observers in Beaufort, Charleston and Georgetown counties reported up to an inch of rain by daybreak. A cool wedge of high pressure held over the Upstate and the northern Midlands on Thursday, as another storm system developed along the Gulf Coast that would impact the state heading into the weekend.
On Friday, January 31, temperatures struggled to rise from the mid-30s and low 40s across much of the state, though most of the coastal areas reached the lower 50s for highs. With the cold air in place, the moisture from the coastal low created wintry precipitation across portions of the Upstate. Up to 1.5 inches of snow were observed in northern Greenville County, and a storm spotter in Lancaster County reported sleet near Elgin. The highest rainfall totals occurred in the Midlands with observers reporting up to 2.50 inches of rain. The low pressure moved away from the area by Saturday morning, though the residual clouds helped keep temperatures from rising higher than the upper 40s to mid-50s in many locations. As the weekend ended, high pressure moved back into the area, providing warmer temperatures and dry conditions during the beginning of the new workweek.
In other news, the famed Groundhog did not see his shadow and predicted an early spring.
(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 | 0.29 | 5.91 | 1.8 |
| Greer Airport | 0.47 | 7.03 | 2.9 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.56 | 4.67 | 1.0 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.28 | 5.4 | 2.0 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.88 | 3.14 | -1.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.32 | 4.56 | 0.4 |
| Florence Airport | 1.32 | 4.62 | 1.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.75 | 2.04 | -1.9 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.96 | 1.46 | -2.5 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.55 | 1.65 | -2.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 44 degrees. Columbia: 54 degrees. Barnwell: 43 degrees. Mullins: 43 degrees.
Another week, and another round of rainfall for the state of South Carolina. Much of the rainfall during the period fell in portions of the Midlands and Central Savannah River Area, with reports of at least half an inch of rain, though some observers measured localized totals of over two inches. The rainfall was the result of another storm system that moved across the state on Thursday and Friday. The Upstate was spared some of the heavier rain amounts, providing a break from the steady rains over the area. As rain has continued to fall steadily over the headwaters of the state’s watersheds over the past few weeks, the rivers and streams continued to report above normal to high streamflow levels.
