On Monday, May 18, Tropical Storm Arthur moved further away from the area, and by Tuesday, a cut off upper-level low funneled more moisture in the region. Some of the storms produced significant severe weather and heavy rain across the state through the end of the week. The rainfall led to minor to moderate river flooding along the Pee Dee, Congaree, and Saluda rivers which continued through the weekend as the rain moved through the river basins. On Wednesday, the Reedy River in Greenville reached 12 feet, exceeding moderate flood stage, and the excessive rains washed out roads across Anderson and Greenville counties.
Along the coast, pea- to ping-pong-ball-sized hail was reported on Wadmalaw and Johns Islands and 24-hour rainfall totals exceeded five inches in the Charleston area. The National Weather Service (NWS) Office in Charleston confirmed an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds of 95 mph, touched down on Johns Island, causing mostly tree damage, but falling trees and large limbs damaged some homes. Three-day rainfall totals ending Thursday morning measured more than three inches of rain for much of the state, with some areas of the Pee Dee and Upstate reporting close to ten inches of rain. The multiple days of rain created mudslides near Traveler’s Rest and localized flooding in Pageland. A funnel cloud was reported by a storm spotter near Timmonsville.
The most active severe weather day of the week occurred on Friday, May 22, as the upper-level low finally pushed north of the area, and a strong disturbance rounded the south side of the low and pushed through the Carolinas. Widespread straight-line wind damage occurred across Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, and York counties as an intense bow echo, as estimated winds in excess of 70 mph moved across the state, causing a massive amount of tree damage. The NWS Greer Office confirmed there was one embedded tornado within a larger area of downburst damage near Blacksburg in Cherokee County and Kings Mountain in York County. The tornado was rated as an EF1, with maximum winds estimated at 95 mph. Storms that developed in the Midlands and Lowcountry produced hail ranging from quarter-sized hail in Aiken and Richland counties to baseball-sized hail near Estill in Hampton County. Isolated showers and thunderstorms continued over the weekend, producing additional damage from hail and strong winds in the Charleston and Columbia areas.
(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 | 7.15 | 35.69 | 18.1 |
| Greer Airport | 7.68 | 40.00 | 21.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 4.02 | 25.85 | 9.7 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 5.44 | 23.94 | 8.2 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 2.70 | 18.15 | 1.6 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 3.49 | 26.10 | 9.4 |
| Florence Airport | 6.26 | 23.73 | 9.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.13 | 18.41 | 1.9 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 1.36 | 19.83 | 4.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.59 | 22.35 | 6.7 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 72 degrees. Columbia: 75 degrees. Barnwell: 71 degrees. Mullins: 69 degrees.
After a week of limited rainfall, the majority of the state recorded measurable rain during the period. Areas between the Interstate 95 corridor and the coast recorded between half an inch and two inches of rainfall, while the rest of the state reported more than two inches. Portions of the Pee Dee and Upstate observed more than five inches of rain with higher localized amounts. A CoCoRaHS observer in Anderson County measured 11.04 inches for the period, and another observer near Florence recorded 9.56 inches. The rain helped ease some of the dry conditions that were emerging in parts of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions.
Due to the rainfall across the state, and within the headwaters in North Carolina, the USGS streamflow data across the state were at normal. However, the gauges above the Fall Line recorded much above normal to high values at 14- and 28-day average streamflow compared to historical data.
