WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2009

May 18, 2009 - May 24, 2009

WEATHER SUMMARY:

A southward moving body of colder air overspread the state on Monday morning with northeast winds gusting to 37 mph at N Myrtle Beach AP. Florence established a date record "lowest maximum" temperature Monday with only 63 degrees as did Charleston with only 59 degrees. Near sunrise on Tuesday, most of the state reported low temperatures in the 40's. Strong, onshore winds between high pressure ridging south along the eastern seaboard and a deep area of low pressure over central Florida, continued through Thursday. At 3:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, Charleston City was reporting east winds at 29 mph, gusting to 37 mph. Clusters of rain showers developed over inland sites within the humid airmass. Surface winds shifted to a more southerly direction over the weekend and contributed to localized pockets of heavy rains. A nearly equal mix of clouds and sunshine kept afternoon high temperatures on both Saturday and Sunday to around 80 degrees. The state average temperature for the period was three degrees below normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 87 degrees at Manning on May 22. The lowest official temperature reported was 38 degrees at Table Rock on May 19. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.70 inches at the Conway ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 18. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.8 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

                            
                                                                                                   Precipitation                    
                       Weekly   Jan 1   Departure     
                        Total   Total   from Avg
         Greer           0.35   20.01     -1.0
      Columbia           1.00   13.45     -4.9
    Orangeburg           0.42   17.21     -1.1
 Charlotte, NC           1.10   17.53     -0.2
   Augusta, GA           1.22   17.82     -0.6
      Florence           0.24   13.49     -2.9
N Myrtle Beach           0.25   11.40     -3.9
    Charleston           0.94   15.94     -0.6
  Savannah, GA           4.02   22.41      6.0   




  
                            





Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 72 degrees, Charleston 75 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were near normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 73 degrees.