Below-average temperatures continued through most of the workweek, with daytime high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s and overnight temperatures in the lower to mid-70s. On Monday, a weak trough over the region aided in producing scattered showers as the sea breeze pushed inland during the afternoon. A weak cold front moved through the area on Tuesday, stalling near the coast on Wednesday. While drier air kept rain chances low in the Upstate and parts of the Midlands, the front helped provide moisture and instability across the Lowcountry and Pee Dee, increasing the chance for showers and thunderstorms.
On Thursday, the weak front was off the southeastern coast and remained there until it dissipated Friday night, while an upper low moved through the region. The cloud cover and rain kept maximum temperatures between five and ten degrees below normal, with highs in the low to mid-80s across the state. Heavy rain was reported in the Charleston area, with a personal weather station recording nearly two inches of rain in 50 minutes near Shadowmoss. The heavy precipitation caused water to cover low-lying roads around downtown Charleston. In Beaufort County, reports of two to four inches of rain were received from personal weather stations and CoCoRaHS observers in Bluffton and Hilton Head.
Scattered thunderstorms in the Upstate and Piedmont developed in the evening hours on Friday, producing frequent lightning, strong winds, and even pea-sized hail in the Sparta area of Spartanburg County. Over the weekend, the upper trough weakened, but still, plenty of moisture across the state for isolated afternoon showers and storms to develop. Strong thunderstorms caused wind damage to a home near Oakway in Oconee County. A ridge built in from the weather Atlantic, and temperatures moderated back to average values for the end of August. Conditions were favorable for the development of rip currents along the Grand Strand. Another weak cold front moved southward and approached the region on Sunday; however, typical summer-like conditions prevailed across the state.
(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 | 0.32 | 23.77 | -7.3 |
| Greer Airport | 1.74 | 36.08 | 2.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.03 | 28.13 | -1.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.12 | 30.01 | -1.4 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 2.51s | 37.93s | 2.8s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.71 | 35.74 | 4.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.45 | 26.97 | -3.8 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.33 | 34.81 | 4.3 | Charleston Air Force Base | 3.19 | 33.73 | -1.8 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.65 | 25.89 | -8.0 |
| *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.
Most of the Upstate and Piedmont continued to miss out on beneficial rainfall, with stations receiving less than half an inch of rain during the period. Some areas have measured less than 50 percent of their usual rainfall for the month of August, especially those in and near the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. The Pee Dee region also missed out on rains during the past seven days, and only those stations that experienced localized thunderstorms recorded more than half an inch of rain. Parts of the central Midlands and coastal Lowcountry measured between one and two inches of rain. Totals ranging from three to seven inches were recorded in portions of Beaufort and Charleston counties. 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.
Streamflow gauges in the headwaters of the Santee watershed continued to decline, with most of the reported streamflow values much below average. Those that recorded normal flows were on the lower end of those conditions. However, the flows in the lower Pee Dee watershed improved to normal conditions due to rain that fell in North Carolina. All the state’s rivers observed heights below the flood stage.
