It was a somewhat active period, as low pressure moved away from the area on Monday, January 30. The rain lingered across the state, but widespread rain decreased late in the afternoon. Temperatures were slightly above average, with lows in the upper 40s and highs in the upper 50s to the low 60s. A slow-moving cold front approached the area on Tuesday, causing a few scattered showers. Ahead of the front, morning temperatures were in the low to mid-50s, nearly twenty degrees above average for the end of January for some locations, and high temperatures around the state climbed into the upper 60s.
On the first day of February, maximum temperatures in portions of the Upstate and Charlotte Metropolitan Area were set before sunrise, before a cold air damming event set up in the region. The temperature at 1:30 AM at the Rock Hill York County airport was 61 degrees, dropping to 45 degrees by 1:30 PM. Outside the wedge of cold air, the National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Charleston International Airport recorded a high of 81 degrees, which tied for the second-highest temperature for the day set in 1950. The famed Puxatuney Phil saw his shadow on Thursday, February 2, declaring six more weeks of winter as forecasts predicted an outbreak of Arctic air that would impact portions of the northern tier of the US by the end of the week. Across the Southeast, another low pressure moved through the area producing widespread showers with heavy rain overnight.
High pressure settled into the Mid-Atlantic on Friday afternoon and evening, setting up for cool and dry conditions through the remainder of the period. Temperatures on Saturday morning dropped into the low to mid-20s, producing hard freeze conditions across the Upstate, along with portions of the Midlands and Pee Dee. Despite clear skies, highs struggled to reach the mid to upper 40s outside locations near the coast and dropped to near-freezing conditions again on Sunday morning. Temperatures on Sunday afternoon were slightly warmer, reaching the mid-50s, and the warming trend would continue into the new workweek.
(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 | 1.00 | 8.37 | 3.6 |
| Greer Airport | 0.99 | 8.53 | 3.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.03 | 6.52 | 2.5 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.85 | 6.51 | 2.5 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.57 | 6.60 | 2.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.41 | 7.51 | 3.1 |
| Florence Airport | 0.81 | 5.68 | 2.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.16 | 3.15 | -0.4 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.95 | 4.85 | 0.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.21 | 4.75 | 1.0 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 43 degrees. Columbia: 51 degrees. Barnwell: 44 degrees. Mullins: 45 degrees.
Widespread totals of over half an inch of rain were measured across the state; however, there were isolated pockets of totals over an inch, with localized spots recording close to two inches of rainfall. According to the latest release of the US Drought Monitor, the persistent drought (D1) area in coastal portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee decreased with the additional amounts of precipitation. Most of the abnormally dry (D0) conditions were removed from the Lowcountry, and there was a significant decrease in D0 conditions in the Pee Dee region.
Additional rain during the period continued to help the 14-day averages for stream flow gauges remain near normal in portions of the Midlands and Upstate. Some tributaries along the Edisto, Pee Dee, and Santee rivers recorded stream flows slightly above average. After weeks of below-normal stream flows, the gauges on the Little Pee Dee at Galivants Ferry and Waccamaw River near Longs rose to normal. The river heights remained below flood stage in portions of the Upstate. But with the consistent precipitation over the past few periods, some river height gauges south of the Fall Line rose into action stage, and a few reached minor flood stage and continued to rise as water moved through the river basins.
