Locally heavy rain occurred during the first part of the period as Tropical Storm Fred made landfall along the Florida Panhandle near Cape San Blas and moved north into Georgia on Monday afternoon. Precursor rain fell in portions of the Upstate, with totals of two to four inches measured by CoCoRaHS observers in Pickens and Oconee counties. Cloud cover and precipitation kept daytime temperatures up to ten degrees below normal in some locations, with highs reaching the low to mid-80s. On Tuesday, Fred weakened to a Tropical Depression but still produced heavy rains, strong winds, and tornadoes. National Weather Service (NWS) and WeatherFlow sensors reported gusts between 40 and 50 mph along the coast. Heavy rain and strong winds within some of the stronger bands of thunderstorms caused minor damage in the Midlands and Upstate. There were ten confirmed tornadoes from the remnants of Fred; five tornadoes in the Midlands (2 EF1 and 3 EF0), and five tornadoes in the Upstate (2 EF1 and 3 EF0).
Additional information on the impacts of Tropical Storm Fred will be detailed in a State Climate Office open-file report.
By Wednesday, August 18, the remnants of Fred had cleared the area, though lingering showers from the storm caused heavy rain in portions of Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, and Horry counties. With a humid air mass across the Southeast, the typical summer-time pattern returned, with scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms and near-normal temperatures: highs in the 90s, and overnight lows in the 70s. An upper trough settled into the Mid-Atlantic region on Thursday and Friday, keeping chances for precipitation high throughout the weekend.
On Friday, August 20, Tropical Storm Grace approached Mexico as Tropical Storm Henri remained well-offshore as it passed by the area and headed toward New England. Large swells and rip currents were reported along the coast on Saturday, associated with Henri’s passage. Thunderstorms caused heavy rain in Charleston and Berkeley counties near McClellanville and Sangaree. A weak shortwave moved through parts of the state on Sunday, producing widespread showers and isolated areas of heavy rain, causing localized flash flooding in Lexington and Richland counties. The NWS station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport measured 5.13 inches of rain, breaking the previous daily rainfall record of 2.18 inches, set back in 1978. The value also sets the daily rainfall record for the month of August.
(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 | 3.29 | 30.05 | -0.2 |
| Greer Airport | 1.27 | 36.52 | 3.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.90 | 28.32 | -0.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 8.13 | 37.85 | 7.3 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 1.40 | 30.62M | 1.1M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 2.62 | 40.83 | 10.6 |
| Florence Airport | 4.00 | 35.12 | 5.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.61 | 37.75 | 8.6 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 3.74 | 42.71 | 8.6 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 2.27 | 32.73M | -0.1M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 83 degrees. Barnwell: 75 degrees. Mullins: 73 degrees.
Over the seven days, most of the state recorded at least an inch of rain, with isolated portions of the Upstate reporting over ten inches. The passage of Tropical Storm Fred through the area was the source of the precipitation during the first part of the period, and some CoCoRaHS observers in Oconee and Pickens counties recorded multiple days with rainfall over three inches. The second round of rain occurred over the weekend, with most of the rain falling across the Midlands and Pee Dee. Two CoCoRaHS observers near downtown Columbia recorded over five inches of rain on Sunday. Only a few locations missed out on the rain during the period, reporting less than an inch; they include areas near Dillon and Marlboro counties in the Pee Dee and Allendale and Hampton counties in the Lowcountry.
With widespread rainfall across the Palmetto State, many rivers recorded streamflow values at or slightly above normal. The gauge along the Santee River near Pineville recorded much above normal streamflow values as the rainfall moved through the watershed. Some of the gauges in the Upper French Broad measured extremely high flows during the period. Most of the rivers in the state recorded heights at or below the flood stage during the period. However, the Black Creek near Quinby and the North Fork of the Edisto near Orangeburg rose to the action stage on Sunday due to the locally heavy rains.
