WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2025
February 24, 2025 - March 2, 2025
WEATHER SUMMARY:
On Monday, February 24, high pressure remained over the region, and the dry air helped overnight lows drop into the mid-20s in the Upstate, with near-freezing temperatures reported across the Midlands and interior portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee. Some early morning clouds gave way to clear skies, and temperatures rose to the mid-to-upper 60s across the state. The warming trend continued on Tuesday and Wednesday, with high temperatures that were fifteen to twenty degrees above normal reported under clear skies. Maximum temperatures ranged from the mid-70s in the Upstate to near 80 degrees at the coast.
Conditions on Thursday were warm and breezy before a weak cold front moved through the region, producing isolated showers in parts of the Pee Dee. High temperatures on Thursday climbed into the upper 70s to low 80s. Above-normal temperatures, low humidity, and windy conditions caused increased fire danger through the weekend. Lake wind advisories were in place across the Midlands, with sustained southwest winds up to 20 mph with higher gusts. Temperatures were slightly cooler and near normal on Friday, with highs in the 60s; however, the low humidity and dry conditions prevailed through the weekend.
With high pressure over the area on Saturday, sunny skies led to warmer temperatures, with highs in the mid- to upper 70s. Another dry cold front pushed through the region late Saturday, producing strong winds with gusts up to 35 mph. Red flag warnings were issued on Saturday morning as relative humidity values dropped below 25%, combined with the windy conditions and fuel on the ground from Helene, which led to increased fire danger. Behind the front, conditions were cooler with high temperatures on Sunday in the 50s, roughly ten degrees below normal.
Wildfires in Horry County started being reported on Thursday afternoon, and the Horry County government issued a burn ban due to the extreme fire danger. The US Forest Service also reported a wildfire in the France Marion National Forest on Thursday. By Saturday, Governor McMaster issued a statewide burn ban, as multiple fires were reported across the state, with the largest fire, known as the Carolina Forest Fire, having burned more than 1,600 acres. It was 30% contained at the time of this report. The South Carolina Forestry Commission reported 109 wildfires, which burned roughly 4,500 acres during the period.
(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.)
The highest reported temperatures were 82 degrees on February 27 at the NWS stations near Jamestown in Berkeley County and Barnwell in Barnwell County on February 28.
The lowest temperature reported was 20 degrees at the NWS station near Jocassee in Oconee County on February 24.
The NWS station near Barnwell in Barnwell County reported a maximum 24-hour precipitation of 0.30 inches, ending on the morning of February 28.
The CoCoRaHS station Kingstree 7.9 NW (SC-WL-2) reported a 24-hour precipitation total of 0.33 inches, ending on the morning of February 28.
The state average precipitation for the seven-day period was 0.0 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
| | Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure |
| Anderson Airport | 0.00 | 5.94 | -2.3 |
| Greer Airport | 0.00 | 6.56 | -1.7 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | Trace | 4.69 | -2.2 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.00 | 3.64 | -3.5 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | M | M | M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | Trace | 5.65 | -2.2 |
| Florence Airport | Trace | 3.26 | -3.0 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.05 | 2.29 | -4.1 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | Trace | 2.95 | -3.7 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 3.43 | -2.9 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
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SOIL TEMPERATURES:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 55 degrees. Barnwell: 50 degrees. Mullins: 64 degrees.
PRECIPITATION AND RIVER STAGES:
There was no appreciable rain during the period, with less than a tenth of an inch reported at some isolated locations near the coast. After the rain, conditions remained dry throughout the rest of the period. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, February 27, showed little change due to the dry conditions across the state.
With no beneficial rainfall, the 14-day average streamflow across much of the state continued to decline. Gauges in the Midlands that recorded flows within normal range were at the lower end of the normal range. Additional gauges in portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions reported values below normal, and some gauges on rivers in the Pee Dee recorded values much below normal, including the gauge on the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry, Black Creek at Kingstree, and the Waccamaw River near Longs. The height levels at the river and the tidal gauges remained below the flood stage during the period.
WATER TEMPERATURES:
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 55.2 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 50.9 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 53.1 degrees.
