On Monday, February 6, the Charleston Branch pilots association suspended morning piloted vessel traffic due to the dense sea fog due to visibilities less than a quarter of a mile in Charleston Harbor. High pressure settled into the Southeast, mainly providing clear skies and above-normal maximum temperatures through the middle of the work week. Overnight temperatures ranged in the upper 30s to mid-40s. In comparison, daytime temperatures steadily rose from the 60s to the mid- to upper-70s by Thursday in portions of the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Pee Dee regions.
By Wednesday, a low-pressure system and associated fronts increased moisture, producing scattered showers across the area as they approached the Southeast. High pressure shifted offshore on Thursday, and a frontal boundary pushed overnight, triggering additional storms in the Upstate. Some CoCoRaHS observers reported half an inch of rain by Friday morning. The front slowly moved through the region, with moderate rain developing late Friday evening.
There was a break in the rain on Saturday morning before another round of moderate to heavy rainfall started late Saturday afternoon. The precipitation started as a mixture of rain and sleet in parts of the Upstate before transitioning to rain. CoCoRaHS observers near Walhalla, Travelers Rest, Lyman, and Inman reported sleet in their daily reports. The heavy rain late Saturday night caused road flooding near Knightsville in Dorchester County and contributed to a section of Orangeburg Road near US 17A being washed out. The rain continued through Sunday morning, tapering to a light mist and drizzle for the remainder of Sunday. Downed trees from winds and saturated soils were reported near Belton in Anderson County, Walterboro in Colleton County, and Moncks Corner in Berkeley County. Locations outside the immediate coast observed high temperatures on Sunday that were ten to fifteen degrees below normal, with maximum temperatures struggling to reach the 50s due to cloud cover and rain.
(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 | 1.67 | 10.04 | 4.5 |
| Greer Airport | 1.60 | 10.13 | 4.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.89 | 8.41 | 3.7 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 2.36 | 8.87 | 4.0 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 2.43 | 9.03 | 3.5 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.41 | 9.23 | 3.9 |
| Florence Airport | 1.71 | 7.39 | 3.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 2.36 | 5.51 | 1.2 | Charleston Air Force Base | 2.64 | 7.49 | 2.8 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 2.54 | 7.29 | 2.8 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 47 degrees. Columbia: 53 degrees. Barnwell: 46 degrees. Mullins: Not Available.
According to the latest release of the US Drought Monitor, released on Thursday, February 9, the rainfall from the previous period caused the removal of the persistent drought (D1) area in coastal portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee, and there was a significant decrease in abnormally dry (D0) conditions in the Pee Dee region. Most of the rainfall occurred at the end of the period, and widespread totals of over an inch of rain were measured across the entire state. Areas south of the Fall Line recorded more than two inches of rain with isolated pockets of totals over three inches in the Coastal Plain.
The widespread heavy rain at the end of the period caused a jump in the 14-day averages for stream flow values across much of the state. All streamflow gauges recorded stream flows at normal to slightly above normal conditions. The river heights remained below flood stage in portions of the Upstate, although the Enoree River at Whitmire rose to action stage. The consistent precipitation since the beginning of the year has contributed to the steady increase in stream flows and river heights at gauges south of the Fall Line. Some rivers rose to minor flood stage, with the Congaree River at Carolina Eastman approaching moderate flood stage at the end of the period. Most river heights were expected to maintain current levels as water moved through the river basins.
