The state experienced unsettled weather for most of the period and temperatures were near normal, with overnight lows in the low to mid-70s and highs in the upper 80s in the Upstate to the low to mid-90s elsewhere. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed during the evening on Monday, July 22, producing golf-ball-sized hail near Camden. Late evening on July 22, a training thunderstorm produced heavy rain over portions of Florence County, and flooding was reported in Timmonsville, where over 8 inches of rain fell by Tuesday morning.
A flood watch was issued on Wednesday, which lasted through Thursday evening for much of the Midlands and Pee Dee regions. Numerous widespread showers, thunderstorms, and localized heavy rain produced flash flooding in Columbia in Richland County. Rocky Branch Creek flooded the Main and Waley intersection, and a water rescue was needed for a partially submerged vehicle. The creek crested at 10.76 feet at 1:31 AM and 9.33 feet at 6:11 PM. There was also a report of a road washout near Augusta Highway and the I-26 Interchange in Lexington County, and flash flooding was reported in Bennettsville in Marlboro County. There were multiple reports of a waterspout on Lake Murray near Dreher Island State Park on Thursday, and in Newberry County, a portion of US Highway 176 in Prosperity was closed due to flash flooding caused by heavy rain. Occasional showers and thunderstorms, with localized heavy rain, continued throughout the period, with southerly flow providing ample moisture in the region. Heavy rain was reported during Friday afternoon in Charleston, where 1.23 inches of rain in 30 minutes was reported at The Citadel, and a CoCoRaHS observer recorded 1.65 inches of rain in 40 minutes. The heavy rain caused flooding in low-lying areas of Charleston, and multiple downtown roads were closed due to standing water.
A weak cold front moved slowly through the region and with northwest flow behind the front, drier air filtered into the area, especially in the Upstate and portions of the northern Midlands. Benign weather prevailed on Sunday due to the dry airmass hanging over the area. Temperatures were slightly cooler than the previous days, with overnight lows dropping into the low to mid-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 | 1.63 | 32.89 | 5.7 |
| Greer Airport | 1.13 | 32.04 | 3.3 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.97 | 28.35 | 3.3 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 5.52 | 32.39 | 5.9 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 2.54 | 24.91 | -4.9 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 3.04 | 28.86 | 2.5 |
| Florence Airport | 4.53 | 25.30 | -0.5 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 3.92 | 25.67 | 1.2 | Charleston Air Force Base | 2.36 | 31.40 | 2.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.72 | 30.75 | 2.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 80 degrees. Barnwell: 76 degrees. Mullins: 69 degrees.
Most of the state recorded at least half an inch of rain during the period; however, slow-moving and training storms caused widespread totals between two and five inches in portions of the Midlands and Pee Dee regions along the Interstate 20 corridor. A CoCoRaHS observer in Richland County reported 8.86 inches of rain during the seven days, while another in Florence County reported 8.25 inches of rain from one event. Despite the rainfall, lingering drought conditions observed in lack of soil moisture and below-normal streamflow kept drought designations on the United States Drought Monitor (USDM) unchanged on the July 24 map. Any changes in the USDM drought designations because of the rainfall that fell in the latter half of the week will be reflected in the map released on Thursday, August 1.
Rainfall increased the 14-day average streamflow values at gauges across the state, especially in some of the watersheds across the Midlands and Pee Dee, including the Lynches River at Effingham, Black Creek at Hartsville, and the Pee Dee River at Bennettsville. However, rainfall totals across the Coastal Plain were between half an inch and two inches, and with the persistent drought conditions, the 14-day average streamflow values at some gauges across the region remained below average, such as the Edisto River near Givhans and Black River at Kingstree. The Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry continued to report values well below average for this time of year. River heights rose at gauges where heavy rainfall fell or began working through the watersheds, and tide height gauges across the state reached the action stage during the week.
