High pressure over the region with dry air from the weekend brought a bit of a break from the heat and humidity. Dewpoint temperatures fell into the 40s and 50s due to the dry air mass on Monday, June 20, and overnight temperatures dropped into the 50s across much of the state. Eight stations set new record low temperatures, including the National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Florence Regional Airport, which measured a minimum temperature of 56 degrees.
However, temperatures steadily climbed during the period, and by Wednesday and Thursday, multiple stations recorded maximum 24-hour temperatures at or above 100 degrees. The NWS Station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport recorded a high of 102 degrees on Wednesday, breaking the previous daily maximum temperature record of 101 degrees, set back in 1988. Thunderstorms in the Midlands on Thursday evening caused minor wind damage in Barnwell, Calhoun, Fairfield, and Orangeburg counties. The station at the Fairfield County airport reported a wind gust of 52 mph, and the station at the North Air Base measured a gust of 47 mph.
On Friday, a weak front boundary set up over the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) during the day, and some isolated showers and thunderstorms developed and produced less than a tenth of an inch of rain. High temperatures were in the upper 80s to low 90s across the state. By the weekend, high pressure over New England pushed drier air back into the region, with temperatures slightly above average, with highs in the low to mid-90s and overnight temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.
(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 | 0.10 | 18.83 | -4.4 |
| Greer Airport | Trace | 26.24 | 2.3 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | Trace | 19.88 | -1.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.23 | 17.95 | -3.2 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.14s | 25.46s | 1.7s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.05 | 20.06 | -1.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 16.89 | -3.0 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | Trace | 17.24 | -1.7 | Charleston Air Force Base | Trace | 14.29 | -7.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | Trace | 10.87 | -11.5 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 78 degrees. Columbia: 80 degrees. Barnwell: 74 degrees. Mullins: 70 degrees.
Most of the state recorded no rainfall during the period, though some locations in and along the Interstate 26 and Interstate 77 corridors reported at least a tenth of an inch of rain. Some isolated places measured over half an inch of rain within these areas, with the highest totals for the period reported in Orangeburg County. CoCoRaHS observers reported on the dry conditions and local impacts from the lack of rainfall, including lower water levels in ponds and streams and suffering crops. Due to the multiple periods of widespread below-normal precipitation, high temperatures, and high evaporation rates, abnormally dry conditions (D0), along with moderate (D1) and severe drought (D2) conditions, persist in South Carolina.
With the lack of widespread rainfall during the period, the 14-day streamflow averages at many of the gauges of the four main watersheds continued to drop below normal thresholds. Even gauges within the normal percentile range were reported at or below 50% of their average flow. The number of streamflow gauges recording values below 10% of their average streamflow increased during the period. All the state’s rivers observed heights below the flood stage.
