Dry weather continued at the start of the week, but winds on Monday, March 28, were not as strong as they had been over the weekend. The drier than normal conditions led to low fuel moisture and increased fire weather concerns across much of the state. Because the dewpoint temperatures were in the single digits, minimum temperatures dropped slightly below freezing in some locations, including the Piedmont, northern Midlands, and Pee Dee. On Tuesday, a warm front to the south of the state slowly drifted northward. However, cooler than average temperatures remained across the state, with highs in the mid to upper 60s. As the warm front moved into the state during the evening, moisture increased, and humidity values quickly rose in the region.
By mid-week, a cold front with showers and thunderstorms to the west and the warm front lifting across the state helped produce windy conditions with southerly winds and increased dewpoint temperatures. Daytime temperatures climbed into the mid-80s in the Midlands as the National Weather Service stations at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport and the Orangeburg Municipal Airport recorded highs of 84 degrees. On Thursday, the cold front moved through the region, producing showers and thunderstorms, some severe with strong winds as the primary hazard. Gusts of 45 mph were measured by sensors in the southern Midlands and Lowcountry, while some gusts were estimated at 55 mph. The rain started in the morning in the Upstate and lasted through late afternoon closer to the coast. A funnel cloud was observed near Lake Wateree and Great Falls, and law enforcement reported trees down near Liberty Hill in Kershaw County.
As high pressure built back into the region behind the cold front, breezy and dry conditions returned across the Southeast for the weekend. On Friday, under sunny skies, locations across the state reported near-normal temperatures in the lows in the 40s and highs in the mid-70s. The lack of precipitation and wind contributed to a wildfire reported by the US Forest Service. However, minimum and maximum temperatures were slightly cooler than average for the beginning of April on Saturday, with lows in the lower 40s and highs in the mid-60s. By Sunday, warm temperatures returned ahead of the next threat of severe weather for the start of the new workweek.
(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 | 0.74 | 11.79 | -0.9 |
| Greer Airport | 0.95 | 14.22 | 1.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.09 | 12.86 | 1.9 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.30 | 7.97 | -2.8 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.13s | 11.34s | -0.6s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.43 | 8.95 | -3.0 |
| Florence Airport | 0.02 | 10.09 | 0.5 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.05 | 9.02 | -1.1 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.25 | 5.13 | -5.0 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.43 | 6.03 | -3.9 |
| *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: 62 degrees. Barnwell: 54 degrees. Mullins: Not Available.
For the second period in a row, the only measurable precipitation fell from Thursday through Friday, with areas north and west of the Interstate 20 corridor reporting more than half an inch of rain. An additional swath of higher rainfall totals was observed in Horry County, where radar estimates show rainfall totals between three and four inches. Locations in the Lowcountry and along the Interstate 95 corridor recorded less than a quarter of an inch of rain. Over the last few periods, rainfall has helped alleviate abnormally dry conditions (D0) and moderate drought (D1) in some areas; however, these conditions persist in the state's eastern half.
Streamflow gauges reported normal flows, with much of the rainfall confined to the northern and western half of the state. However, some gauges of the lower portions of the state’s watersheds returned to recording below normal flows due to the lack of rain. Low values continued to be reported at the gauges on the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry and the Waccamaw River near Longs. As the water moved from the headwaters of the Santee and Savannah basins, a few river height gauges rose into the action stage, with forecasted heights to reach a minor flood stage. Most of the rivers observed heights below the flood stage.
