On Monday, February 26, clear skies prevailed as high pressure continued to shift offshore. Morning temperatures were up to ten degrees below average, and some portions of the Upstate and Midlands recorded temperatures at or below freezing. Despite the cool start to the period, breezy southwest flow ahead of an approaching cold front provided warmer-than-normal temperatures through the middle of the week. Maximum temperatures were up to fifteen degrees above normal, climbing into the mid to upper 70s by Wednesday afternoon. An intense line of thunderstorms accompanied the cold front as it pushed through the state during the early evening hours on Wednesday. Strong winds associated with severe thunderstorms produced a wind gust of 56 mph at the National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport and a 59 mph wind gust at the Greenville downtown airport. Strong to severe thunderstorms also caused minor wind damage in the Upstate and Midlands.
Leap Day provided a break from rainy weather behind the cold front. However, moisture increased throughout the day, high clouds lingered across the region, and temperatures were cooler than Wednesday, with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.
A low-pressure system moved up the Southeast coast on Friday, March 1, producing widespread rain with cooler conditions. Locations north and west of the Interstate 95 corridor recorded high temperatures that were up to twenty degrees below normal, as maximum temperatures struggled to get into the upper 40s and low 50s in the Midlands and Upstate, feeling more like January rather than the first day of climatological spring. Rain showers lingered across the Lowcountry and Pee Dee on Saturday morning before the front moved off to the east. Conditions cleared throughout the day, and the quiet weather continued through Sunday.
(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 | 2.15 | 13.88 | 5.5 |
| Greer Airport | 2.47 | 15.32 | 6.9 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.34 | 9.43 | 2.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 2.39 | 7.50 | 0.2 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.39 | 7.20 | -1.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.73 | 6.79 | -1.2 |
| Florence Airport | 1.85 | 6.19 | -0.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.68 | 4.63 | -1.9 | Charleston Air Force Base | 3.18 | 8.58 | 1.8 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.10 | 6.66 | 0.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 51 degrees. Columbia: 56 degrees. Barnwell: 51 degrees. Mullins: 57 degrees.
The state recorded at least half an inch of rain during the period, though most of the precipitation observed over the seven days fell from late Thursday night through Saturday morning. The highest rainfall totals were measured in parts of the Lowcountry and Midlands, where isolated locations in Charleston, Colleton, Jasper, Lexington, and Richland counties reported amounts over three inches. Widespread portions of the Upstate received between two and three inches of rainfall, while up to two inches of rain was reported in the Pee Dee region.
Most of the 14-day average streamflow values across the state recorded normal flows; however, gauges in the Pee Dee region continued to report slightly below normal streamflow values due to the drier conditions over the previous periods. River height gauges in areas that received higher rainfall measured an increase in river heights, with some values reaching action and minor flood stages, especially those across the Midlands.
