A reasonably quiet period started on Monday, August 23, with high pressure to the north of the state and a boundary just south of the area. The typical summer pattern dominated the week with scattered afternoon showers and temperatures near normal, with highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s. Some moisture flowed back into the state as the boundary lifted to the north and settled across parts of the Lowcountry, triggering strong thunderstorms that caused minor damage in Ashton and Ruffin in Colleton County and in Luray in Hampton County. The boundary continued to shift to the northwest, setting up over the Upstate by Wednesday morning, bringing an increased chance of rain and storms. A few intense storms occurred in the Upstate, resulting in downed powerlines in Taylors and Berea in Greenville County and near Powdersville in Pickens County.
An upper-level high pressure built into the region on Thursday, August 26, keeping conditions relatively dry and warm through the weekend. Strong rip currents were observed along the Grand Strand and near Hilton Head late Friday morning. Temperatures were five to ten degrees above normal on Saturday and Sunday in the Upstate, with daytime highs reaching the low to mid-90s.
Elsewhere during the period, Tropical Storm Ida strengthened into a Hurricane on Friday, August 27, south of Cuba, eventually moving into the Gulf of Mexico toward the Louisiana coast. The storm went through rapid intensification on Saturday, and Ida made landfall along the southeast Louisiana coast on Sunday afternoon as a strong Category 4 storm. Ida tracked through the state before turning to the northwest, which caused potential flooding and severe weather for portions of the Upstate during the beginning of the workweek.
(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 | 0.00 | 30.05 | -1.2 |
| Greer Airport | Trace | 36.52 | 2.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 28.32 | -1.3 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | Trace | 37.85 | 6.3 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.52 | 31.14M | 0.8M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.02 | 40.85 | 9.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.12 | 35.24 | 4.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.04 | 37.79 | 7.0 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.01 | 42.72 | 7.0 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 32.73M | -1.4M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 82 degrees. Columbia: 81 degrees. Barnwell: 76 degrees. Mullins: 74 degrees.
Some CoCoRaHS observers in the Midlands recorded 24-hour totals ending Monday morning of between two and five inches after slow-moving thunderstorms dumped heavy rain on Sunday afternoon and evening. During the rest of the period, the isolated nature of the storms meant rainfall totals were mainly less than a quarter of an inch. A few locations in the Lowcountry and Upstate recorded values of more than an inch due to scattered thunderstorms. No rain was reported over the weekend.
With the limited rainfall across the state, many rivers with recorded streamflow values above normal started to fall. However, some of the gauges along the Edisto River, especially near Cope and Orangeburg, still reported above normal streamflow values due to localized heavy rainfall in the area. Most of the rivers in the state recorded heights at or below the flood stage during the period. However, the Edisto River near Givhans Ferry rose to the action stage on Friday and held steady through Sunday.
