A low pressure passed offshore on Monday, February 5, producing hazardous marine conditions that persisted until late on Tuesday. Small craft and high surf advisories were issued for the coast, while lake wind advisories were in place for Lake Moultrie and most of the Midlands, where wind gusts up to 35 mph were measured. From Sunday, February 4, to Tuesday morning, February 6, rainfall totals across the Coastal Plain storm system ranged from one to two inches.
High pressure built into the region, with near-normal temperatures and sunshine throughout the rest of the workweek. With dry air in place across the region, morning temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday were cooler than normal, with lows dropping into the mid- to upper 20s across much of the state and daytime highs reaching the upper 50s to low 60s.
Southerly winds helped moisture return to the area on Friday, with high temperatures climbing into the upper 60s and low 70s. The high pressure shifted offshore on Saturday as a cold front approached the area. Temperatures continued to be above normal, feeling more like the middle of Spring than the beginning of February. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport set a new daily high-temperature record of 72 degrees, breaking the previous record of 70 degrees set in 1996 and 2009. Showers moved into the Upstate Saturday evening, and while it was a mostly dry start to Sunday, increased shower activity spread over the area through the afternoon and into the evening hours as the area of low pressure moved from the Mississippi Valley into the region.
The Charleston Harbor Tidal Gauge recorded high astronomical tides ranging between 7.07 feet and 7.31 feet MLLW through most of the period. The higher tides caused shallow to moderate flooding in low-lying coastal areas.
(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 | 0.38 | 9.11 | 3.6 |
| Greer Airport | 0.19 | 10.49 | 5.0 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.09 | 7.37 | 2.8 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.38 | 3.03 | -1.7 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.93 | 4.23 | -1.2 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.85 | 4.10 | -1.1 |
| Florence Airport | 0.11 | 2.85 | -1.4 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.04 | 1.11 | -3.1 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.40 | 3.40 | -1.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.03 | 4.67 | 0.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 51 degrees. Columbia: 53 degrees. Barnwell: 49 degrees. Mullins: 57 degrees.
Most of the state recorded at least half an inch to an inch of rain during the period, with higher amounts, up to 2.50 inches, reported in the Lower Savannah River Basin. A few locations, such as coastal Jasper County and isolated parts of the Pee Dee region, measured rainfall totals of less than a quarter of an inch.
Due to limited precipitation across the state, the 14-day average streamflow values returned to normal flows. A few gauges across the Midlands and Pee Dee regions reported slightly below normal streamflow values. River height gauges across most of the state reported levels below the action stage, though the river height value at the Santee River at Jamestown continued to drop to the minor flood stage. Tidal gauges reached minor heights during the period due to a coastal storm and astronomically high tides with the new moon.
