The start of the week was marked by typical summertime temperatures, with morning lows in the lower 70s and highs in the upper 80s, with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours each day. While the widespread threat of severe thunderstorms was relatively low, some thunderstorms reached severe limits. Multiple National Weather Service (NWS) stations recorded maximum temperatures in the low 90s on Monday, August 17, and Tuesday, August 18, including stations located in Beaufort, Charleston, and Columbia. There was an increase in thunderstorm activity as a weak surface front slipped into the state and stalled over the Midlands. On Tuesday evening, lightning caused a structural fire in northern Columbia, and an observer near Pelion recorded 2.52 inches of rain. The unsettled weather on Wednesday produced thunderstorms with strong winds near Greer, resulting in downed trees and power outages in the area. Closer to the coast, dime-to-penny-sized hail was observed as storms pushed through Berkeley County near Hanahan. A rain gauge on Church Creek near Bees Ferry in Charleston County measured over two inches of rain between 3 PM and 4 PM.
High temperatures across the Upstate on Friday were five to ten degrees below average, and some locations struggled to get out of the 70s. The NWS station located at the Clemson/Oconee Airport recorded a high of 77 degrees, and cooler-than-normal temperatures continued through the weekend. With deep moisture in place across the region, some showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain. On the morning of Friday, August 21, a new daily precipitation record of 4.20 inches occurred at the NWS station in Long Creek, smashing the previous record of 1.78 inches from 1949. A Cherokee County Emergency manager reported flooded roads in Gaffney due to the heavy rain. A WeatherFlow station at Folly Beach Pier recorded a 60-mph wind gust. The NWS station in Catawba reported a 24-hour rainfall total ending Saturday morning of 3.67 inches, breaking the previous record of 1.77 inches recorded in 1949.
(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 | 1.23 | 45.30 | 16.8 |
| Greer Airport | 1.56 | 53.40 | 22.0 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.80 | 36.94 | 9.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.27 | 42.69 | 12.0 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.33 | 30.81 | -1.2 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.99 | 43.04 | 13.2 |
| Florence Airport | 0.98 | 45.21 | 16.0 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.82 | 36.03 | 2.8 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.81 | 35.80 | 2.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.97 | 35.64 | 2.9 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 80 degrees. Columbia: 81 degrees. Barnwell: 74 degrees. Mullins: 73 degrees.
Widespread portions of the Upstate, north of the Fall Line, reported between two to six inches of rainfall during the period. Elsewhere, showers and thunderstorms were isolated, and areas that received measurable precipitation were under slow-moving storms, including localized amounts up to three inches in the Pee Dee near Chesterfield and Darlington counties, and along coastal portions of Charleston and Georgetown counties. 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. The rainfall continued to ease some of the dry conditions in small areas of the Lower Savannah River Basin and Lowcountry.
The USGS streamflow data across the state show most of the gauges are reporting normal to much-above-normal values at 14- and 28-days. The streamflows in the regions that received more substantial amounts of rain saw the streamflow values rise, while those gauges in areas that missed out on any rainfall during the period have dropped off.
