On Monday, August 2, a weak front pushed south of South Carolina?, providing slightly cooler temperatures and some drier air into the region, with overnight lows in the upper 60s to low 70s, and highs in the upper 80s. Widespread rainfall occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a few embedded thunderstorms, as the front drifted back to the north and stalled over the region. The threat for severe weather was low, but there were numerous reports of flooding, especially in parts of Beaufort, Horry, and Marion counties. A CoCoRaHS observer in Calhoun County recorded 3.11 inches in two hours on Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service (NWS) station in Marion reported a 23-hour rainfall total ending on Wednesday morning of 4.91 inches, breaking the daily precipitation record for the day of 2.59 inches set in 1974. With overcast and rainy conditions, multiple daily low maximum temperature records were broken during the first part of the period as high temperatures only reached the upper 70s, up to fifteen degrees below normal. The NWS station at the Charleston International Airport recorded a high temperature of 77 degrees Wednesday, breaking the previous record low maximum for the day of 80 degrees set back in 1993
Showers and thunderstorms lingered in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee on Thursday, as portions of the Midlands and Upstate cleared out, and there were no significant weather threats through the remainder of the period. Maximum and minimum temperatures remained below normal across much of the state through Saturday, with highs in the 80s and overnight lows in the upper 60s. An upper-level trough increased rain chances on Friday and Saturday, though rainfall totals were less than those at the beginning of the week. Showers and isolated thunderstorms were observed outside of the Upstate on Friday.
The cloudy and rainy conditions persisted into the start of the weekend until the trough lifted northeastward and moved out of the area late Saturday afternoon. An upper-level ridge moved into the region behind the boundary on Sunday. It caused a return to the normal summertime weather pattern, with highs in the mid-90s, lows in the 70s, and a chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms.
(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 | 0.19 | 26.09 | -2.4 |
| Greer Airport | 0.25 | 34.31 | 3.7 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.24 | 25.86 | -0.8 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.91 | 29.29 | 0.8 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 3.71 | 29.22M | 1.7M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.62 | 35.68 | 7.6 |
| Florence Airport | 2.08 | 30.93 | 3.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 4.13 | 36.14 | 9.8 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 2.99 | 34.89 | 3.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.88 | 30.06M | -0.4M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 79 degrees. Columbia: 80 degrees. Barnwell: 75 degrees. Mullins: 71 degrees.
Areas of the state, mainly east and south of the Interstate 20 corridor, recorded more than half an inch of rainfall, with many locations recording more than two inches. In Horry County, CoCoRaHS observers in Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach measured between four and eight inches of rain during the period, most of that coming from a single event. Elsewhere across the state, locations that received higher rainfall totals were the result of isolated thunderstorms. In the Upstate, most of the rainfall totals for the seven days were less than half an inch, though there were some higher amounts due to isolated thunderstorms in Spartanburg County.
With most of the rain falling in portions of the Midlands and Pee Dee, many gauges reported increased streamflow with localized higher amounts. Gauges along the Black, Edisto, and Wacammaw rivers recorded above normal streamflow values during the period. Due to the limited rainfall that fell in parts of the Upstate and Charlotte Metropolitan Area, some of the streamflow gauges on smaller tributaries reported slightly below normal flows. Most of the rivers in the state recorded heights at or below the flood stage during the period. However, the Black Creek near Quinby rose briefly to the action stage during the period but started to fall by Sunday.
