A cold front approached the region during the afternoon on Monday, June 14, triggering thunderstorms across the state. Storms in Cherokee and Pickens counties produced golf ball-sized hail, and a storm spotter measured a wind gust of 55 mph near Winnsboro in Fairfield County. A severe thunderstorm caused wind damage in Calhoun County near Gaston and Saint Matthews, with multiple trees down along Highway 176. The increased rain chances lingered on Tuesday as more thunderstorms fired along the front as it slowly moved through the area. Strong winds caused minor wind damage and downed trees in parts of interior Horry County. Around the Lowcountry, there were reports of wind gusts up to 55 mph in the Charleston area and hail reported near Jedburg in Berkeley County. The second round of severe storms in Calhoun County caused additional damage in the area impacted on Monday evening.
Dry air moved into the Southeast behind the front as a high pressure set up over the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, providing sunny skies and pleasant weather through the remainder of the workweek. While daytime temperatures were near normal, overnight low temperatures were cooler than normal. Minimum temperatures ranged from the upper 50s to mid-60s on Thursday and Friday, roughly five to ten degrees below normal for mid June. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Rock Hill York County Airport observed a low of 57 degrees on Friday morning. By late Friday, the weak high pressure had moved offshore.
Early on Saturday, June 19, Tropical Storm Claudette formed over southeastern Louisiana and weakened to a tropical depression as it moved across Alabama and Georgia. Ahead of the storm, southeasterly winds funneled moisture back across the region, providing increased rain and storm chances across the Carolinas. By mid-afternoon on Sunday, the center of Claudette was in the Midlands. A funnel cloud was reported near Wagener in Aiken County; there was no confirmed funnel touchdown. Many locations in the Upstate reported 24-hour rainfall totals ending Sunday morning of between one to two inches. An RC Winds station near Chapin recorded heavy rain, with close to an inch of rain measured in 25 minutes, and street flooding was reported in low-lying parts of Columbia. WeatherFlow stations along the coast reported tropical-storm-force wind gusts as the center of Claudette moved offshore, including gusts of 40 mph at Georgetown and Shutes Folly and a 62 mph gust at the Isle of Palms Pier.
(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 | 1.80 | 19.34 | -3.1 |
| Greer Airport | 1.93 | 27.47 | 4.3 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.58 | 20.63 | 0.1 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.46 | 21.93 | 1.8 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.68 | 17.64M | -2.3M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.59 | 28.17 | 7.4 |
| Florence Airport | 1.22 | 22.05 | 3.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.40 | 21.50 | 3.4 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 1.22 | 23.34 | 2.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.38 | 20.46M | -0.6M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 77 degrees. Barnwell: 72 degrees. Mullins: 74 degrees.
Rainfall throughout the period provided beneficial precipitation, as at least half an inch of rain fell across the entire state. Widespread amounts of two to three inches were recorded between the Interstate 20 and Interstate 85 corridors and along the Lowcountry and Pee Dee coastal areas. A few locations in Charleston County reported seven-day rainfall totals close to five inches.
Sporadic rainfall throughout the period continued to ease the persistent dry conditions across portions of the state, especially the areas of severe drought in parts of the Pee Dee. Some stream gauges measured slightly above normal flows, including the North Fork of the Edisto near Orangeburg and Lynches River near Bishopville. However, streamflow values across the Waccamaw River Basin were still below the long-term average. All rivers across the state continued to record river heights below flood stage.
