On Monday, February 12, a low-pressure system moved through the region, producing heavy rain and a few thunderstorms, with some isolated locations reporting up to three inches of rain. On Monday, the Charleston Harbor Tidal Gauge recorded a high astronomical tide of 7.02 feet MLLW, causing shallow flooding in low-lying coastal areas. A cold front passed through the area overnight, and gusty winds behind the front lingered through late afternoon on Tuesday. Lake wind advisories were issued for parts of the Midlands and Pee Dee region, while gale warnings and small craft advisories were in place for the coastal waters. The highest wind gusts ranged from 35 mph in interior parts of the state to over 40 mph along the coast. The National Weather Service station at the North Myrtle Beach Airport recorded a wind gust of 50 mph on Tuesday morning. These non-thunderstorm winds caused downed trees in portions of the Lowcountry and Upstate.
High pressure built over the area around the middle of the week, providing sunny and dry conditions. Morning temperatures started in the 30s, slightly cooler than normal due to the drier area, but quickly warmed, with highs reaching the mid to upper 60s; ten degrees warmer than normal and feeling more like the end of March than the middle of February. The high pressure shifted offshore Thursday, and moisture increased across the state on Friday as a weak warm front moved north through the region.
A few scattered showers developed on Saturday as the cold front moved through the region before drier air filtered back into the area on Saturday evening. Behind the front, morning temperatures dropped into the upper 20s to low 30s, and maximum temperatures ranged from the upper 40s in the Upstate to near 60 at the coast.
(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 | 1.98 | 11.09 | 4.6 |
| Greer Airport | 1.88 | 12.37 | 5.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.50 | 7.87 | 2.5 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.81 | 4.84 | -0.8 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.58 | 5.81 | -0.6 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.95 | 6.05 | -0.1 |
| Florence Airport | 1.25 | 4.10 | -0.9 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.51 | 2.65 | -2.4 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.72 | 5.12 | -0.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.88 | 5.55 | 0.5 |
| *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: 44 degrees.
Another storm system produced at least half an inch to an inch of rain across the state, with the lower amounts near the Charlotte Metropolitan area and higher amounts, over three inches, in portions of Colleton, Dorchester, and Georgetown counties. A few locations in the Upper Savannah River measured rainfall totals between two and three inches.
Most of the 14-day average streamflow values across the state recorded normal flows, and areas that received higher rainfall amounts measured flows slightly above normal. While some of the gauges across the Midlands showed improvements in stream flows, gauges in the Pee Dee region continued to report slightly below normal streamflow values. River height gauges across most of the state reported levels below the action stage. However, areas that received higher rainfall totals saw some river height values across the Lowcountry rise into the minor flood stage.
