On Monday, May 17, the weather was nothing short of ‘Chamber of Commerce’ weather. With high pressure situated to the north of the region, overnight temperatures across the state were between five and ten degrees below normal, with lows in the mid-40s to low 50s. The National Weather Service (NWS) station in Mrytle Beach reported a new daily record low temperature of 50 degrees, breaking the previous record of 51 degrees back in 2014. Highs temperatures during the first half of the period ranged from the upper 70s to the lower 80s. A weak disturbance on Tuesday sparked some isolated showers throughout the state, but the amounts totaled less than a quarter of an inch in those locations.
High pressure built into the region on Wednesday and Thursday, and calm, dry weather persisted through the weekend. With the high pressure in place, afternoon temperatures reached the low to mid-80s across much of the Palmetto State and would continue to warm each day. The lack of humidity helped temperatures drop into the mid to upper 50s overnight and increased fire danger in the region. By Saturday, high temperatures started to climb, topping out in the mid- to upper 80s. After starting Sunday morning with temperatures in the mid-60s, high temperatures rose into the upper 80s and low 90s, nearly ten degrees above normal in some locations. Sunday was also the first 90-degree day reported in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, and Florence since September 2020. The hot, summer-like weather with limited rainfall continued into the first part of the 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 | 0.00 | 15.14 | -3.4 |
| Greer Airport | 0.03 | 20.27 | 0.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 16.78 | -0.1 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.00 | 18.53 | 2.8 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.00 | 11.81M | -3.9M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 20.21 | 3.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 16.59 | 1.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.00 | 16.50 | 1.8 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 15.16 | -0.1 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.03 | 14.90 | -0.5 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 75 degrees. Columbia: 73 degrees. Barnwell: 67 degrees. Mullins: 69 degrees.
Rainfall totals amounted to less than a tenth of an inch statewide, with a few isolated areas of totals up to a quarter of an inch. The United States Drought Monitor continued to reflect the abnormally dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) conditions across the Pee Dee, which continues to miss out on beneficial rainfall.
Most of the streamflow values across the state remained near normal values. Due to the continued lack of rainfall across the Pee Dee region over the recent periods, streamflow gauges on the Little Pee Dee and the Waccamaw rivers reported below normal streamflow values for May. River height levels and projected heights around the state were forecast to remain below flood stage.
