The wedge of cold air that affected the weather for most of the previous period continued on Monday, February 15, for portions of the Midlands and Upstate. Temperatures ranged from the low 40s in the Upstate to the upper 60s at the coast. By late afternoon, a low-pressure system deepened in the Gulf of Mexico and pushed to the northwest, increasing the chance of rain and thunderstorms overnight. Some National Weather Service (NWS) and WeatherFlow stations near the Charleston County coast reported wind gusts up to 45 mph. The thunderstorms produced a severe storm moved that spawned an EF3 tornado with 160 mph winds, which touched down just over the North Carolina state line in Brunswick County. As the cold front cleared the area on Tuesday, drier air moved into the Southeast, giving the state a break from the Seattle-like weather. Breezy conditions developed over the state, with sustained winds reported between 15 and 20 mph. The weather conditions remained over the region until Wednesday evening, as the next low-pressure system approached the state.
The main story for the period was the unsettled weather that started late Wednesday and lasted through the workweek. Cold morning temperatures reported in the Upstate and near the Charlotte Metro Area helped produce some light freezing rain as the precipitation started on Thursday morning. Storm spotters reported ice accumulations up to two-tenths of an inch in the Fort Mill and Rock Hill area. The low pressure tracked along a front stalled over the state and produced widespread rain across the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Pee Dee. Flash flood watches were issued for these areas as the rain continued, heavy at times, overnight. By Friday morning, the low pressure moved off the South Carolina coast, and by mid-afternoon, most of the rain cleared the state. Two-day rainfall totals from the event ranged from less than an inch in the Upstate to localized amounts of near six inches in Colleton and Hampton counties. The NWS station located in Darlington reported a 24-hour rainfall total ending Friday morning of 2.41 inches, which broke the previous daily record of 1.66 inches set back in 1926.
The rain pushed out of the area as high pressure settled into the region, providing dry weather and clear skies for the weekend. Temperatures on Saturday and Sunday mornings were chilly and many locations recorded morning lows at or below freezing. Despite the abundant sunshine, daytime temperatures only reached the mid-50s across the state, slightly below normal for late February.
(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 | 0.93 | 6.50 | -0.2 |
| Greer Airport | 1.20 | 7.82 | 1.1 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.90 | 8.21 | 2.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 3.46 | 11.60 | 5.3 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 3.02M | 8.27M | 1.8M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 3.11 | 11.36 | 4.6 |
| Florence Airport | 3.53 | 12.11 | 6.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 2.33 | 10.76 | 4.5 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 1.98 | 9.21 | 3.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.03 | 6.01 | 0.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 39 degrees. Columbia: 48 degrees. Barnwell: 40 degrees. Mullins: 38 degrees.
For the third period in a row, the entire state recorded rainfall, with lower amounts in portions of the Upstate, where a few locations recorded less than an inch. However, isolated portions of Greenville, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties reported over two inches. Most places below the Fall Line and north of US 17 recorded more than two inches of rain. The highest rainfall totals occurred in the Lowcountry,, with locations in Colleton, Dorchester, and Hampton counties measuring over five inches. A CoCoRaHS observer near Islandton, on the border of Colleton and Hampton counties, reported a seven-day rainfall total of 7.84 inches, most of that coming from the heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday.
With the heavy rainfall during the period, most streamflow values south of the Fall Line saw an increase in flows and reported much above normal flows. However, some values along rivers in the upper Santee and Savannah basins continued to report normal to above normal. River height gauges in portions of the Edisto, Pee Dee, Santee, and Savannah rivers recorded heights at major and moderate flood stage. The Edisto River near Givhans Ferry recorded a height of 15.12 ft, higher than the height seen with Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The gauge on the Lynches near Effingham reached 17.95 ft, just below major flood stage. The gauge slowly rose above major flood stage near Conway along the Waccamaw River and would remain above 14 ft through the next period.
