The period started with seasonable weather, near-average temperatures, and a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms during the workweek. Maximum temperatures across the state ranged from the upper 80s to the mid-90s. On Monday, thunderstorms over Columbia produced intense rain rates and heavy rain, causing flooding of the intersection of Whaley and Main, which has flooded multiple times over the past few weeks. Similar conditions continued through Thursday due to a weak trough across the region, providing instability and moisture. Storms produced minor wind damage near Boiling Springs in Spartanburg County on Tuesday, and intense thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon in Beaufort, Charleston, and Hampton counties produced heavy rain and minor wind damage.
Heading into the weekend, slightly warmer temperatures were measured on Friday and a return to the typical summer-time pattern. Temperatures in the Upstate were five degrees above average, and the National Weather Service station at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport measured a maximum temperature of 96 degrees on Saturday.
On Friday afternoon, storms produced flash flooding in parts of Charleston and North Myrtle Beach. On Saturday, strong thunderstorms produced quarter-sized hail on Daniel Island and heavy rain near Wando in Berkeley County. Another round of heavy rain caused flooding near Shadowmoss in Charleston County and a report of four inches of rain falling in two hours near Meggett. Frequent lightning with these storms sparked two structural fires: one near Wando and the other near Cainhoy. Additional thunderstorms Sunday evening in the Midlands produced strong winds in portions of Calhoun, Lexington, and Richland counties. The RC winds station at SCEMD headquarters recorded a gust of 44 mph.
(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 | 0.27 | 21.61 | -5.2 |
| Greer Airport | 1.33 | 31.87 | 3.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.36 | 23.20 | -1.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.92 | 25.75 | 0.0 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.41s | 32.95s | 3.9s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.06 | 31.41 | 5.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.09 | 23.17 | -1.9 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 5.17 | 28.32 | 4.5 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.99 | 26.86 | -0.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.57 | 18.84 | -8.8 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 83 degrees. Columbia: 81 degrees. Barnwell: 75 degrees. Mullins: 75 degrees.
Much of the rain during the period fell across parts of the state south of the Fall Line, with locations in the Midlands and coastal Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions reporting at least half an inch of rain. Portions of Charleston and Horry counties recorded totals between two and three inches of rain, though some CoCoRaHS observers in these counties reported totals between five and six inches. However, for the second period in a row, much of the Upstate measured between a tenth and half an inch of rain. The rainfall during this period helped improve the abnormally dry conditions (D0) in parts of the Midlands and Pee Dee regions. Isolated portions of the Upstate showed improved D0 conditions; however, the lower rainfall totals did not provide a widespread improvement over the area. Moderate drought (D1) conditions were removed from Allendale and Beaufort counties, but the D1 conditions persist in Jasper County due to long-term below-normal precipitation values.
The lack of rainfall over the Upstate caused the 14-day streamflow averages at many of the gauges to drop during the period, while the rainy pattern helped to increase the streamflow values at many of the gauges across the rest of the state. Streamflow numbers continued to be within the normal percentile range in the Midlands and Upstate, with some gauges in the Lowcountry reporting values much above average flow. For the first time in months, the gauge on the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry recorded streamflow values within the normal range, a vast improvement over the past few weeks. All the state’s rivers observed heights below the flood stage.
