High pressure provided sunny weather and near normal temperatures on
Monday, March 24. On Tuesday, southeasterly winds helped initiate scattered
showers over eastern counties. Early Wednesday morning a cold front quickly
swept through the state with additional rains in the form of thunderstorms.
Several locations in the northern midlands and upstate reported amounts over
1 inch. Mostly sunny weather prevailed into Friday when another weak front
approached from the northwest. Showers and thunderstorms were reported from
Friday afternoon into early Saturday. Hail up to 1.75" in size occurred in
Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties. Saturday was a beautiful day with
afternoon temperatures warming into the mid 80's. The week ended a little
cooler as winds shifted more northeasterly. Statewide temperatures for the
period averaged 3 degrees above normal in the upstate to 7 degrees above
normal along the southern coast.
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA
The maximum observed temperature was 88 degrees on March 29 at Jamestown.
The minimum observed temperature was 29 degrees at Cedar Creek on the morning
of March 24. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall was recorded at Cheraw
with 2.56" ending at 7:00 a.m. on March 26. Statewide rainfall for the
period averaged 0.7".
Precipitation
Period 1997 Deviation* Temperature
Location Total Total From Avg. Maximum Minimum
Greer 0.78 13.6 0.2B 80 38
Charlotte, NC 0.49 10.1 1.8B 82 41
Columbia 0.40 10.3 2.9B 86 37
Florence FAA 0.15 9.2 1.6B 87 43
Blackville 0.18 10.8 1.8B 87 45
Augusta, GA 0.67 10.8 2.1B 88 38
Beaufort 0.30 8.8 2.2B 84 49
Charleston 0.48 7.4 3.5B 84 44
Myrtle Beach 0.45 10.5 1.7B 87 45
*A=Above, B=Below
ENERGY DEMAND AND AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY
Degree Days
Actual
Mar. 1-30
Cooling Heating
Columbia 50 148
Charleston 77 91
Greenville 9 228
Temperatures are expected to average near normal for the week.
Rainfall is expected to be near normal. The Sandhill Experiment Station in
north Columbia reports an average 4-inch depth soil temperature of 67 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF
River stages are near to above normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach
and Savannah will average around 65 degrees.
As a reminder: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, April 6, at 2 A.M.
Set clock time ahead 1 hour.