The pattern during the period was dominated by the Bermuda high ridging into the southeastern states, providing near-normal temperatures across much of the state. Temperatures over the seven days ranged from overnight lows in the upper 60s to the mid-70s to daytime high temperatures in the upper 80s to mid-90s. Stations in the higher elevations of the Upstate reported lows in the 50s and highs in the lower 80s.
Diurnal thunderstorms developed each day, with some of the storms reaching severe thresholds, producing hail, heavy rain, and strong winds. On Monday, July 12, offshore thunderstorms spawned multiple waterspouts near Forest Beach in Beaufort County, and strong winds from thunderstorms downed trees in the Upstate. A storm spotter recorded pea-sized hail in Chesterfield on Tuesday, and funnel clouds were reported near Fripp Island.
The sea breeze interacted with a boundary to initiate nearly stationary thunderstorms across portions of the Midlands on Thursday and Friday. The slow-moving storms produced heavy rain in Calhoun and Orangeburg counties, and an emergency manager reported flooding in downtown Orangeburg on Thursday. An RC Winds station in Richland County recorded more than two inches of rain in forty minutes during the Friday rush hour. Flooding occurred in flood-prone, low-lying parts of the city. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Columbia Owens Downtown Airport recorded a wind gust of 40 mph. In Lexington County, storm spotters reported hail in Chapin and Oak Grove, and lightning caused a house fire in Forest Acres in Richland County.
The NWS station in downtown Charleston observed a high minimum temperature of 82 degrees on Saturday morning, tying the record set back in 2019. Another series of strong thunderstorms set up in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee during the weekend. Strong storms produced penny-sized hail in Summerville, and thunderstorm wind damage was reported in Colleton, Clarendon, and Berkeley counties. A severe storm caused some tree damage near Olanta and on the campus of the Medical University of South Carolina Health in Florence County.
(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 | 1.26 | 23.14 | -3.0 |
| Greer Airport | 0.19 | 28.91 | 1.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.09 | 22.73 | -1.1 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.35 | 26.00 | 1.3 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 1.52 | 22.93M | -1.4M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 2.90 | 32.30 | 7.4 |
| Florence Airport | 1.41 | 26.61 | 2.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.35 | 28.33 | 5.7 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.31 | 28.57 | 2.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.45 | 26.04M | -0.5M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 82 degrees. Columbia: 80 degrees. Barnwell: 76 degrees. Mullins: 73 degrees.
Rainfall over the seven days resulted in widespread reports of at least half an inch of rain across much of the state, with over two inches of rainfall across the Central Savannah River Area, and CoCoRaHS observers reported over four inches in Abbeville, Edgefield, and Richland counties. However, locations in Greenville, Lancaster, and Spartanburg counties missed out on the rain, recording less than a quarter of an inch, leading to the introduction and expansion of abnormally dry conditions (D0) per the United States Drought Monitor.
With the recent weather patterns, areas with higher rainfall totals have reported slightly above normal streamflow values over the past three weeks, including the Black River near Hartsville and the Lynches River near Bishopville. During the period, rainfall in portions of the Midlands and the Upstate improved streamflow values that were somewhat below normal last week. All rivers across the state continued to record river heights below flood stages.
