The period was marked by below-normal temperatures and an overall wet pattern across the Southeast US, with locally heavy rain and a chance of strong to severe thunderstorms. On Monday, August 15, a surface front pushed south through the state, helping to produce storms during the afternoon and evening in the northern Midlands and Pee Dee, with scattered showers across the state. Thunderstorms produced strong, gusty winds that damaged a section of the post office building and downed several trees and power poles in McColl in Marlboro County. Minor wind damage was reported near Ninety-Six in Greenwood County. As the front shifted toward the coast on Tuesday, thunderstorms produced golf-ball-sized hail near Loris in Horry County. The front became stationary near the coast on Wednesday and lingered through the weekend, bringing increased moisture into the region and enhancing heavy precipitation. Heavy rain fell in Mount Pleasant with up to three inches in some locations of coastal Charleston County.
Heavy rain was observed in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee coastal portions late Thursday into Friday morning. There was a report of embankment erosion and slumping on Highway 501 just before the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge in Horry County. Up to two feet of water occurred on low-lying roads in Myrtle Beach and Socastee, and a funnel cloud was also reported in Socastee. CoCoRaHS observers reported between three and six inches of rain by Saturday morning. The National Weather Service station in North Myrtle Beach recorded a 24-hour rainfall total of 2.86 inches, setting a new daily rainfall record for August 20. In Beaufort County, thunderstorms produced heavy rain, frequent lightning, and strong winds on Friday. Lightning started structural fires in Pritchardville and struck a tree near the Naval Hospital in Port Royal, along with multiple reports of flooded roads across the county.
Maximum temperatures ranged from five to fifteen degrees below normal for mid-August, with some locations observing high temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s during the work week. The National Weather Service station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport reported a maximum temperature of 76 degrees on Wednesday, the second coldest high temperature for the day since 1948.
Temperatures returned to more seasonable values over the weekend, while showers and thunderstorm activity lingered across the state. Some CoCoRaHS observers near the Interstate 85 corridor measured at least half an inch of rain by Sunday morning.
(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 | 1.27 | 23.45 | -6.7 |
| Greer Airport | 0.98 | 34.34 | 1.7 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.30 | 28.10 | -0.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.09 | 28.89 | -1.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.64s | 35.42s | 1.4s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.86 | 34.03 | 4.0 |
| Florence Airport | 1.32 | 26.52 | -3.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 5.18 | 34.48 | 5.6 | Charleston Air Force Base | 2.55 | 30.54 | -3.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 2.96 | 24.24 | -8.5 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 77 degrees. Columbia: 80 degrees. Barnwell: 74 degrees. Mullins: 72 degrees.
For the second period in a row, portions of the Upstate and Piedmont received less than half an inch of rain, especially in and near the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. Parts of the central Midlands and interior Lowcountry measured between half an inch and an inch and a half of rain. Totals ranging from two to four inches were recorded in portions of Beaufort, Charleston, and Horry counties, where some CoCoRaHS observers reported up to eight inches of rain. With little rain falling in parts of the Upstate, abnormally dry (D0) conditions continued to expand across the Upstate due to the lack of widespread precipitation.
Localized heavy precipitation increased streamflow values in portions of the Midlands and Pee Dee; however, gauges in the Upstate continued to decline, with many gauges in the Santee watershed recording flow values below average. The Little Pee Dee River gauge at Galivants Ferry was the only gauge in the state reporting 14-day average streamflow values much below average. The Black River at Quinby rose into action stage over the weekend, while the rest of the state’s rivers observed heights below the flood stage.
