On Monday, April 27, high pressure was in place across the Southeast and dry conditions dominated the weather pattern. The gusty winds that had been affecting the region on Sunday diminished by mid-day. Seasonable temperatures started the week, with highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s and lows in the mid to upper 40s. By Tuesday, the high-pressure began to shift offshore ahead of another storm system that would impact the state during the middle of the week. With the southeast flow over the area, high temperatures in the Midlands rose into the low 80s.
A cold front moved across the Tennessee Valley on Wednesday, April 29, and the risk of severe weather increased as it pushed through the state. A squall line, with embedded strong thunderstorms, moved through the state late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. Stations across South Carolina recorded wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph and storm spotters reported thunderstorm wind damage, mainly downed trees and powerlines in Chesterfield, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington and Richland counties. The 24-hour rainfall totals ending on the morning of Thursday, April 30, were highest in the Upstate, with CoCoRaHS observers in Spartanburg County, reporting over 3.50 inches.
Two National Weather Service (NWS) stations measured new record 24-hour low maximum temperatures on Friday morning. In Batesburg, the high temperature climbed to 68 degrees, which broke the previous record of 70 degrees from 1908, and in Long Creek, where the temperature reached 59 degrees, breaking the record of 70 degrees in 1976. High pressure built into the region, bringing fair and dry weather for the first weekend in May. High temperatures on Saturday and Sunday climbed into the mid to upper 80s, with the NWS stations located in Beaufort and downtown Columbia reporting maximum temperatures of 89 degrees.
(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 | 2.27 | 27.34 | 11.8 |
| Greer Airport | 2.79 | 28.67 | 12.6 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 2.42 | 21.33 | 7.3 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.65 | 18.47 | 4.7 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.40 | 15.45 | 0.8 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.82 | 22.60 | 7.5 |
| Florence Airport | 1.64 | 16.82 | 4.5 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.04 | 16.76 | 2.5 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.96 | 18.46 | 4.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.07 | 20.76 | 7.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 68 degrees. Columbia: 69 degrees. Barnwell: 63 degrees. Mullins: 70 degrees.
Much of the rain that fell occurred during the middle of the week as a strong cold front pushed through the state. Rainfall totals ranged from close to four inches in portions of the Upstate, to one to two inches in the Midlands, to lower amounts (0.10 to 0.33 inches) in the Lowcountry. With some of the heaviest rain falling in the headwaters of the river basins, some river gauges along portions of the Pee Dee, Santee, and Savannah rivers were at an action or minor flood stage.
The rainfall helped keep streamflow values across much of the state near normal due to the multiple weeks of rain that fell during the previous periods. However, the lack of general rainfall across the Pee Dee Basin caused lower than normal streamflow values along some rivers in that basin, including the Little Pee River near Galivants Ferry.
