A relatively quiet weather period started on Monday, February 22, as the cool morning temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s gave way to highs in the upper 50s to mid-60s. A cold front moved through the area producing light to moderate showers during the afternoon, with a few stations in the Upstate recording half an inch of rain. Overnight lows dropped into the 30s as high pressure settled into the region behind the front. Tuesday was a 'Chamber of Commerce' day across the state with a return to dry conditions, sunny skies, and spring-like weather, and temperatures in the upper 60s. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Clemson Oconee County Airport recorded a maximum temperature of 70 degrees.
High pressure began to shift offshore on Wednesday as a weak cold front approached the state from the north. Maximum temperatures reached the low to mid-70s, more than ten degrees above normal for the end of February, which was a marked difference from the rest of the month. The cold front slipped across the state from north to south on Thursday, and with some limited moisture, cloud cover increased over the region. By Friday, the high pressure shifted completely offshore, and low pressure along the Gulf Coast moved into the area. Temperatures were much cooler during the day, struggling to reach the upper 50s, even in locations that did not receive much rainfall. The highest rainfall totals during the storm occurred north of the Interstate 20 corridor.
Early Saturday, high pressure started to build back into the area as the front began to lift back over the state. However, portions of the Upstate and Piedmont remained under the influence of a cold air damming weather-pattern. High temperatures reached the upper 70s and low 80s in the Lowcountry and Midlands but barely made it into the low 60s in Anderson, Greenville, and Rock Hill. On Sunday, with high pressure in control, temperatures soared into the 80s across the state under mostly clear skies. The NWS station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport measured a high temperature of 86 degrees, which broke the previous daily record of 84 degrees in 1962 and 2011. The new record also became the warmest all-time February temperature at the station.
(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 | 0.82 | 732 | -0.4 |
| Greer Airport | 1.12 | 8.94 | 1.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.98 | 9.19 | 2.5 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.11 | 11.71 | 4.5 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.08 | 8.35M | 0.8M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.10 | 11.46 | 3.6 |
| Florence Airport | 0.27 | 12.38 | 6.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.29 | 11.05 | 3.9 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.06 | 9.27 | 2.6 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | Trace | 6.01 | -0.5 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 57 degrees. Columbia: 54 degrees. Barnwell: 48 degrees. Mullins: 61 degrees.
After three straight periods with widespread rainfall across the state, this period provided drier conditions for all areas outside of the Upstate. Isolated portions of Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties reported over 1.25 inches, with totals over an inch reported north of a line from Abbeville to Lancaster counties. South of this area, rainfall totals were less than a third of an inch. A CoCoRaHS observer near Salem in Oconee County reported a seven-day rainfall total of 1.55 inches, with most of that coming from the heavy rain on Thursday.
Even though areas south of the Fall Line observed rainfall totals less than a quarter of an inch, most streamflow values continued to report increased flows, with many gauges recording values much above normal flows. Some streamflow gauges in the Upstate recorded an increase due to the recent rainfall, especially those in the Santee Basin's headwaters. In portions of the Edisto, Santee, and Savannah rivers, gauges showed a drop in river heights, with most gauges in the lower basins reporting heights at or below minor flood stage. Many of the river heights within the Pee Dee basin continued to drop, and the only exception was along the Waccamaw River. The gauge near Conway along the Waccamaw River reached major flood stage during the period, cresting at 15.6 ft. over the weekend. The river would slowly begin to drop, remaining at major flood stage through much of the next period.
