A cold front moved through the state early on Monday, March 18, with drier and colder air funneling in behind it. Strong high pressure originating in Canada caused northwest winds across the region, prompting the National Weather Service to issue lake wind advisories for the parts of the Midlands and Coastal Plain. Freeze warnings were also issued for the Upstate and northern Midlands, and morning temperatures on Tuesday morning dropped below freezing in locations north of the Fall Line. There was plenty of sunshine on Tuesday, but despite the clear skies, high temperatures were up to ten degrees below normal, with highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s. By Wednesday, a surface high pressure remained to the south, and southwesterly winds provided some warm advection under mostly sunny skies. While morning temperatures were slightly cooler than normal, daytime highs rose into the mid-70s.
The weather on Thursday continued to be fair, with high temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, up to ten degrees above normal, despite the weak backdoor cold front that pushed through the region. Friday was a cooler day, with rain overspreading the area throughout the day as a low-pressure system approached from northern Mississippi. Showers and thunderstorms became more widespread overnight and lingered into Saturday morning. Breezy conditions developed across the Midlands and Pee Dee, and drier and cooler air was funneled back into the area behind the departing system. Some locations in the Upstate reported temperatures at or slightly below freezing on Sunday morning. Despite the sunny skies, high temperatures only reached the upper 50s across most of the state, up to ten degrees below normal.
(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 | 1.09 | 17.59 | 6.2 |
| Greer Airport | 1.22 | 19.86 | 8.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.04 | 12.67 | 3.0 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.33 | 11.24 | 1.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.33 | 10.34 | -0.5 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.85 | 10.10 | -0.6 |
| Florence Airport | 0.31 | 8.75 | 0.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.06 | 6.60 | -2.3 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.21 | 12.97 | 4.0 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.51 | 8.37 | -0.4 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 61 degrees. Columbia: 59 degrees. Barnwell: 54 degrees. Mullins: 60 degrees.
The storm system that moved through toward the end of the period provided the most precipitation, with most of the state recording at least half an inch of rain. A few areas along the Interstate 95 corridor in the Pee Dee reported slightly less rain, between a quarter and half an inch. A few locations, mainly in coastal counties and the Upstate, observed over an inch of rain.
Most of the 14-day average streamflow values across the state recorded normal flows. Some gauges in portions of the Lower Savannah and ACE Basins reported above-normal to much-above-normal streamflow values due to the rainfall from the previous periods. River height gauges in portions of the Coastal Plain reached minor and moderate flood stages and started to decline by the end of the period.
