A surface boundary lifted north from the Gulf Coast on Monday, July 6, and stalled over the state through the middle of the week, causing increased moisture to flow into the region. With the significantly higher moisture, heavy rainfall was recorded as showers and thunderstorms became more widespread across the state. A low-pressure system that formed along the stalled front caused heavier rains along portions of the coast and in the Central Savannah River Area. A SCDNR Swift Water Rescue team provided aid in a rescue in the town of Merriweather in Edgefield County on Tuesday after an individual became trapped in their home due to a nearby creek coming out of its banks. There were additional reports of flooding in Aiken, Beaufort, and Charleston counties. As a result of the heavy rain and cloudy skies, the National Weather Service (NWS) station located at the Charleston International Airport recorded a new low maximum temperature of 80 degrees, breaking the record of 81 degrees set back in 1979. There were multiple reports from Georgetown and Horry counties of 48-hour rainfall totals ending on Wednesday morning of over five inches from the event. A CoCoRaHS observer near Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort County recorded a 24-hour total of 9.95 inches, and a two-day total over twelve inches.
On Thursday, July 9, the low-pressure system strengthened into Tropical Storm Fay off of North Carolina late in the day and continued to move away from the area. A weak frontal boundary across the region resulted in daily thunderstorm development that produced locally heavy rainfall through the weekend. There was low potential for severe thunderstorms, though some storms produced strong winds that caused minor tree damage in Pickens and Spartanburg counties, and pea- to quarter-sized hail in Berkeley and Spartanburg counties on Friday evening. During the weekend, hit-or-miss thunderstorms popped up in the late afternoon, as morning temperatures rose from the mid-70s into the mid-90s across the state.
(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 | 1.68 | 40.77 | 17.2 |
| Greer Airport | 0.80 | 46.21 | 21.3 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.08 | 30.95 | 9.0 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.95 | 33.58 | 10.4 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 2.81 | 25.72 | 0.8 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 6.08 | 37.31 | 13.5 |
| Florence Airport | 2.47 | 38.16 | 16.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 2.09 | 28.56 | 4.4 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 1.80 | 29.10 | 4.6 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.50 | 29.47 | 5.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 82 degrees. Columbia: 85 degrees. Barnwell: 77 degrees. Mullins: 76 degrees.
Most of the state received measurable rainfall, with stations in the Upstate recording totals less than 0.10" in some locations. The heaviest rain fell in coastal portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee and along the I-20 corridor. Observations in these areas ranged from two to four inches, with localized reports of five to seven inches. Over the last 30 days, lingering, dry conditions continue in portions of the Lower Savannah River Basin, Lowcountry, and Upstate. Since the beginning of April, rainfall totals are near to above normal values across much of the state; the exception is the area around northern Orangeburg County.
The USGS streamflow data across the state show most of the gauges reporting conditions are at normal to above-normal values at 14- and 28-days across much of the state. Tropical Storm Fay produced some heavy rain in portions of the lower Pee Dee basin, keeping streamflow values high in the region, while flows continued to drop slowly in the upper Pee Dee watershed.
