It was a warm and active period, with two separate storm systems producing rain. Throughout the week, morning low temperatures were in the upper 50s to low 60s, highs were in the upper 60s to mid-70s, and a few locations recorded maximum temperatures around 80 degrees.
A weak high pressure kept conditions calm on Monday, March 4, and after a dry start to the day on Tuesday, rain chances increased through the afternoon as the high pressure moved off to the east, ahead of a weak low-pressure system. Widespread rain overspread the region on Tuesday night and into Wednesday late morning. Rain was heavy at times, and the National Weather Service station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport broke the daily record rainfall for the date of 1.90 inches, set in 1983, with a new 24-hour rainfall total of 2.68 inches. A few lingering showers and thunderstorms, associated with a cold front, pushed through the state on Wednesday evening. The cold front had moved through the region by Thursday, and after some morning fog and patchy clouds, the sky cleared throughout the day as somewhat drier air filtered into the air, and temperatures remained above average.
A strengthening low-pressure system passed through the central Carolinas late Friday evening and into Saturday, producing showers with heavy rainfall in portions of the Lowcountry as a warm front lifted north through the area. One CoCoRaHS observer in Mount Pleasant and another on the Isle of Palms recorded over four inches of rain by Saturday morning. Also, on Saturday morning, the Charleston Harbor Tidal Gauge recorded a high astronomical tide of 7.59 feet MLLW, causing moderate flooding in low-lying coastal areas. Portions of the Upstate recorded up to two inches of rain, while most Midlands and Pee Dee regions missed the heavier rain. On Sunday, the pressure gradient between the exiting low pressure and incoming high pressure created breezy northwest winds across the region, with gusts up to 30 mph. Drier conditions prevailed, and temperatures were closer to normal, with lows in the mid-40s to mid-50s and highs in the mid-60s.
(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 | 2.45 | 16.33 | 6.9 |
| Greer Airport | 2.55 | 17.87 | 8.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.65 | 11.08 | 3.1 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 3.14 | 10.64 | 2.5 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 2.69 | 9.89 | 0.7 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 2.18 | 9.09 | 0.2 |
| Florence Airport | 1.97 | 8.16 | 1.0 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.80 | 5.43 | -1.9 | Charleston Air Force Base | 3.18 | 11.76 | 4.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.04 | 7.70 | 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: 53 degrees. Columbia: 59 degrees. Barnwell: 54 degrees. Mullins: 60 degrees.
The state recorded an inch of rain during the period due to two low-pressure systems that moved through the region. The first storm system produced the highest rainfall totals, three to four inches, in and around the Columbia Metropolitan area, and the second system produced up to five inches across Charleston County. 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 portions of the Upper Savannah and Broad River Basins reported above-normal to much-above-normal streamflow values due to the rainfall from the last two 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 and Pee Dee regions. The river height gauge on the Edisto River near Givhans Ferry reached the moderate flood stage at the end of the period and was still slowly rising.
