Two distinct weather patterns marked the period: a cold-air damming event at the beginning of the week, and more summer-like conditions by the weekend. On the morning of Monday, June 15, CoCoRaHS observers reported 24-hour rainfall totals between three to seven inches at Folly Beach and on Kiawah Island. A stalled frontal boundary and low-pressure system near the coast resulted in northeasterly flow into the region. The added moisture kept skies overcast through Wednesday, as temperatures struggled to make it into the 60s and 70s for daytime highs. During the first half of the week, temperatures were more than twenty degrees below normal, and nearly forty record low maximum temperatures were either tied or broken. On Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Florence Regional Airport recorded a high of 68 degrees, which broke the previous record of 75 degrees set back in 2007. On the 16th, the NWS station at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport recorded a maximum temperature of 61 degrees, and the station at the Charleston International Airport measured a high of 72 degrees. The station located at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport tied both the record low maximum and minimum on the 17th, with a high of 72 degrees and a minimum of 59 degrees. The NWS station at Caesars Head recorded a minimum temperature of 49 degrees on both the 16th and 17th, which broke the previous daily minimum temperatures for each day at the location.
By Thursday, June 18, southerly flow returned across the region as the low-pressure system moved further away from the area. Temperatures started to rise, and the trend continued through the weekend, with slightly above normal temperatures by Sunday. The shift in the weather pattern also brought unsettled weather back to the state that lasted through the weekend. Scattered thunderstorms during the later afternoon and early evening hours caused strong winds, heavy rain, and hail in portions of the state. Strong wind gusts from afternoon thunderstorms on Friday caused downed powerlines and trees in Colleton County and produced half-inch hail in Goose Creek in Berkeley County. Storm spotters reported quarter-sized hail (one-inch diameter) from storms that developed due to the sea breeze in Georgetown and Horry counties on Saturday. On Sunday, strong thunderstorms in Greenville and Spartanburg counties caused minor wind damage near Taylors and Duncan.
(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 | 0.09 | 37.82 | 16.8 |
| Greer Airport | 1.25 | 43.43 | 21.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.69 | 29.45 | 9.8 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.10 | 29.68 | 9.9 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.86 | 21.59 | 0.4 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.38 | 29.55 | 8.7 |
| Florence Airport | 1.69 | 30.34 | 11.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.65 | 23.81 | 3.2 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.75 | 25.64 | 5.6 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.12 | 25.14 | 4.8 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 78 degrees. Columbia: 78 degrees. Barnwell: 74 degrees. Mullins: 73 degrees.
The moisture and rainfall were limited across the state during the period, with heavy rain falling in isolated locations. Unfortunately, dry conditions are starting to appear in the western half of the state. The rainfall totals since Monday morning ranged from zero at scattered locations in the CSRA, Midlands, and Upstate to over three inches in Beaufort and Oconee counties. The year-to-date departures from normal show wet conditions across much of the region, with areas of the state recording more than eight inches above normal, and close to twenty inches above normal in portions of the Upstate. The only dry part of the state is the area in and around northern Orangeburg County, which has missed out on some of the recent significant rainfalls.
The USGS streamflow data across the state show most of the gauges are reporting conditions are at normal to above-normal values at 14- and 28-days average streamflow compared to historical data across much of the state. The only exception is within the Pee Dee Basin, where streamflow values are still high from flows leaving the state of North Carolina.
