The summertime weather pattern continued through the end of July and into the start of August, with consistent daily showers and thunderstorms and high temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s.
With activity picking up in the tropics, forecasters were watching an area of disturbed weather in the Atlantic, which became Tropical Storm Isaias by the end of the week, and any potential impacts the storm might bring to the United States. Morning temperature on Monday, July 27, were slightly above normal, with many locations reporting minimum temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s. By the mid-afternoon, the National Weather Service station at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport reached a high of 95 degrees, and the Charleston location recorded a maximum of 97 degrees. A weak front approached the area on Tuesday, increasing isolated thunderstorm activity across the region. The NWS station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport recorded a new daily precipitation record for 24-hour rainfall of 3.83 inches on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 2.03 inches set back in 1991.
On Thursday, July 30, numerous showers and thunderstorms caused localized flash flooding in areas where heavy rain fell earlier in the week. Tropical Storm Isaias was located near Cuba, and its track forecast brought it into the southeastern United States toward the end of the weekend and beginning of the new work week. The hot and humid conditions continued through the rest of the weekend, and severe thunderstorms produced pea to nickel-sized hail in parts of the Upstate on Sunday afternoon, mainly near Mauldin in Greenville County, and Fair Play in Oconee County. Heading into a new moon cycle and with Isaias to the south of the area, the tidal gauge in the Charleston Harbor observed a maximum tide level of 7.49 feet MLLW, and saltwater flooding was reported in some of the low-lying coastal areas.
(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 | 41.21 | 15.2 |
| Greer Airport | 0.92 | 50.01 | 21.7 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.04 | 34.03 | 9.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 4.12 | 40.18 | 13.1 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.77 | 27.03 | -1.3 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.46 | 38.31 | 11.5 |
| Florence Airport | 1.76 | 41.49 | 15.9 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.21 | 29.76 | 1.4 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.43 | 29.99 | 1.1 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.23 | 32.71 | 4.5 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 82 degrees. Barnwell: 78 degrees. Mullins: 76 degrees.
During the period, showers and thunderstorms were isolated across most of the state, and areas that received measurable rainfall were under slow-moving storms. Parts of the northern Central Savannah River Area, Midlands, and Oconee County recorded up to five inches of rain. Multiple CoCoRaHS observers near Keowee Key and Salem submitted 24-hour rainfall totals between four and five inches on Thursday morning. Pockets of two-plus inches dotted the state, mainly from afternoon convective and sea breeze storms. The year-to-date rainfall totals are near- to above-normal values across much of the state. However, the recent warm temperatures and lack of precipitation led to deteriorating conditions in portions of the Lower Savannah River Basin and Lowcountry. The lack of rainfall in these areas has led to reports of decreasing surface water supplies and drying topsoil in fields.
The USGS streamflow data across the state show most of the gauges are reporting normal to above-normal values at 14- and 28-days. Streamflows in the regions that did not receive any rainfall during the period have dropped off.
