The active and unsettled weather pattern provided multiple rounds of rain and thunderstorms. The rain during the workweek helped keep maximum temperatures slightly cooler than usual, with highs mainly in the 80s, while the increased moisture kept low temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, around five degrees warmer than average.
On Monday, May 23, an approaching low from the Gulf of Mexico, combined with plenty of moisture and instability across the region, triggered mid-afternoon severe thunderstorms. The storms produced wind damage in Aiken, Newberry, Union, Richland, Lexington, and Calhoun counties, with wind gusts up to 45 mph reported by RCWinds sensors near Ballentine. Dime-sized hail was observed near Sandy Run in Calhoun County. Thunderstorms in the Upstate spawned a tornado. The National Weather Service (NWS) Greer Office (GSP) confirmed a strong EF1 tornado, with peak winds estimated at 110 mph, touched down in the northeast Spartanburg County near Boiling Springs and caused tree damage as it moved toward Chesnee. As the low and associated front slowly moved through the Southeast on Tuesday and Wednesday, moisture allowed for additional afternoon and evening thunderstorms. The NWS GSP office confirmed a short-lived EF0 tornado that caused tree damage near Great Falls in Chester County.
A stalled frontal boundary and another cold front approaching from the Plains created the environment for additional severe weather on Thursday across the state. NWS Charleston confirmed an EF0 tornado touched down in Colleton County near Ritter Thursday evening; damage was mainly confined to snapped and broken pine trees. Another round of thunderstorms impacted the Upstate, producing additional wind damage and golf-ball-sized hail in Cherokee County. On Friday, the cold front and thunderstorms moved through the Pee Dee, producing strong winds, including a 52-mph wind gust reported by the Capers Nearshore Buoy off Dewees Island. The NWS Wilmington Office confirmed an EF0 tornado near Loris in Horry County; while the tornado moved through downtown, it only caused damage to trees and knocked down large limbs.
Behind the front, the pattern shifted and provided a nice break from the humid conditions as drier air moved into the region. With high pressure in control, the drier air allowed overnight night temperatures to drop slightly below average over the weekend. High temperatures were near normal for the end of May, with afternoon temperatures reaching the low to mid-80s.
(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 | 2.33 | 18.37 | -1.0 |
| Greer Airport | 3.53 | 24.49 | 4.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.20 | 19.10 | 1.6 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.76 | 16.56 | 0.1 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.80s | 20.75s | 2.0s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 2.01 | 17.64 | 0.4 |
| Florence Airport | 0.65 | 15.49 | -0.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.49 | 13.75 | -1.5 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.21 | 11.15 | -4.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.57 | 8.57 | -7.7 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 68 degrees. Columbia: 71 degrees. Barnwell: Not Available. Mullins: 67 degrees.
Multiple rounds of rainfall during the period helped ease worsening dry conditions in portions of the Upstate and did little to improve drought conditions in the Coastal Plain. Most locations south of the Fall Line recorded at least half an inch of rain, with some areas measuring more than two inches due to isolated thunderstorms. The highest rainfall amounts fell in the Upstate, with widespread totals over three inches. The South Carolina mountains recorded the most rain during the period, with a seven-day total of over ten inches reported for a National Weather Station near Jocassee in Oconee County. The United State Drought Monitor showed some improvement in the abnormally dry (D0) conditions in the Midlands, while severe drought (D2) conditions persisted in Beaufort and Jasper counties, and moderate drought (D1) designations remained in place across areas east of Interstate 95.
With widespread rainfall easing some of the dry conditions across the state, the 14-day streamflow averages at many of the gauges of the four main watersheds rose back to within normal thresholds. However, the gauges in a portion of the Pee Dee continue to report below-average streamflow, including the Waccamaw River near Longs and the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry, which are below 10% of their normal streamflow. All the state’s rivers observed heights below the flood stage.
