An unsettled pattern started the week, the result of a stationary front positioned south of the region. With a cold air damming scenario in place across the Carolinas, maximum temperatures in the Upstate and Midlands struggled to reach the lower to mid-50s on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24. In contrast, locations closer to the coast reached the upper 60s. The same regions reported rainfall under the influence of the wedge, with showers and thunderstorms through Wednesday. Some of the storms on Tuesday afternoon became severe and produced quarter-sized hail (one inch in diameter) in McCormick, Richland and Saluda counties. Lightning from one of the storms caused a structural fire in the Blythewood area. The 24-hour rainfall totals ending on Wednesday morning ranged from less than an inch to over two-and-a-half inches reported in by the National Weather Service (NWS) stations in Antreville and Long Creek.
As the front lifted northward on Wednesday afternoon, temperatures across the state began to trench higher, with recorded maximum temperatures roughly ten degrees warmer than average in some locations. Stations across parts of the Lowcountry and Central Savannah River Area rose from the upper 40s and low 50s to the upper 60s and low 70s. By Thursday, March 26, high pressure moved into the area and supported drier conditions and above normal temperatures through the weekend.
With southwest flow around the high pressure, daytime temperatures between March 27 and March 29 climbed into the upper 80s and low 90s, nearly 20 degrees above normal in some locations. Over the three days, five stations tied their record highs, while 21 new record highs were set across the state, including the high of 90 degrees recorded on the 28th at the NWS station located at the Florence Regional Airport. On Sunday, a weak cold front passed through the state, bringing with it little relief from the warm temperatures and limited rainfall.
(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 | 2.58 | 21.08 | 9.2 |
| Greer Airport | 2.60 | 21.13 | 9.1 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.96 | 14.19 | 3.7 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.50 | 15.26 | 4.6 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.77 | 12.25 | 0.9 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.95 | 16.82 | 5.1 |
| Florence Airport | 1.87 | 13.81 | 4.5 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.12 | 11.97 | 1.2 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.39 | 9.75 | -0.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.01 | 11.80 | 1.8 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 55 degrees. Columbia: 67 degrees. Barnwell: 62 degrees. Mullins: 65 degrees.
Widespread rainfall during the period continued to keep soils from drying out and led to standing water in some fields as the growing season started across much of the state. CoCoRaHS and National Weather Service stations in the Upstate, Midlands and Pee Dee reported rainfall ranging from an inch to over three inches. The rains missed most of the coastal areas of the Lowcountry, with locations in Beaufort and Charleston recording less than half an inch over the seven days.
It was also another week with little to no rainfall measured over the headwaters of the state’s watersheds in North Carolina. The river and stream gauges in portions of the Pee Dee and Santee Basins reported lower values of streamflow. However, streamflow levels were still higher than normal due to the multiple weeks of rain that fell during the previous periods. Most of the river gauges across the state continued to drop back out of flood stage, with gauges along portions of the Santee and Savannah rivers near the coast at major and minor flood stage. The few gauges that reported flood stage or higher streamflow values were expected to continue to fall.
