On Monday, September 2, a cold front moved through and south of the area, with a few showers, thunderstorms, and plenty of clouds ahead of the approaching cold front. Temperatures remained slightly above average, with afternoon temperatures climbing into the upper 80s to mid-90s.
A cold front moved south of the area on Tuesday, bringing cold-air damming conditions into the region. Low temperatures were in the mid- to upper 60s, while high temperatures were up to ten degrees below normal, only reaching the upper 70s to mid-80s. The cooler-than-normal temperatures remained through the rest of the week and into the weekend. With the high pressure north of the region, increased moisture produced more clouds and isolated showers on Wednesday. A few isolated showers south of the Fall Line produced rainfall totals of less than a tenth of an inch. The front remained stalled off the Southeast coast. By Thursday, a low-pressure system developed off the northeast Florida coast, generating showers and thunderstorms, especially in parts of the Lowcountry and coastal areas of the Pee Dee.
Heading into the weekend, a weak low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico produced light rain showers across the state on Friday and Saturday morning. High pressure shifted into the region behind a cold front, with a drier and cooler air mass. Temperatures at some locations across the state felt more like October and November than the beginning of September. Low temperatures dropped into the upper 50s to low 60s, and high temperatures reached the 70s. The National Weather Service station at the Charleston International Airport recorded a high temperature of 71 degrees on Sunday, just shy of the daily record low maximum temperature of 69 degrees set in 1988.
(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 | Trace | 35.66 | 3.2 |
| Greer Airport | Trace | 37.06 | 2.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | Trace | 36.50 | 5.7 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.06 | 39.76 | 7.0 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.17 | 36.71 | 0.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.41 | 33.34 | 1.0 |
| Florence Airport | 0.18 | 36.09 | 3.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.76 | 40.03 | 6.8 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.94 | 45.24 | 7.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 2.10 | 44.91 | 9.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 76 degrees. Barnwell: 73 degrees. Mullins: 67 degrees.
The period was mainly dry across much of the state, with less than half an inch of rain falling across the Midlands and Upstate. Higher rainfall amounts were confined to portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee located east of the Interstate 95 corridor, where up to two inches of rain were reported near the coast. On Monday afternoon, storms near the Charleston Metropolitan Area produced heavy rain, and the City of Charleston Emergency Management reported 11 roads and intersections closed due to flooding in downtown Charleston. Also, on Monday, storms produced localized amounts of two to four inches of rain near the Walhalla area in Oconee County. Rainfall was limited throughout the period, though light rain fell south of the Fall Line on Friday and Saturday.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, September 5, depicted the continued lack of beneficial rain in the Upstate, and the abnormally dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) conditions were expanded across parts of the Upstate. Severe drought (D2) conditions were introduced into Abbeville, Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties. The South Carolina Drought Response Committee met on Wednesday, September 4, upgraded the drought status for seven Upstate counties, and maintained the drought status for two other counties. Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, McCormick, Oconee, and Pickens were upgraded from incipient to moderate drought. Laurens and Greenwood were maintained at the incipient drought level, and Aiken was upgraded from normal to incipient drought. More information can be found at www.scdrought.com
Heading into the weekend, a weak low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico produced light rain showers across the state on Friday and Saturday morning. High pressure shifted into the region behind a cold front, with a drier and cooler air mass. Temperatures at some locations across the state felt more like October and November than the beginning of September. Low temperatures dropped into the upper 50s to low 60s, and high temperatures reached the 70s. The National Weather Service station at the Charleston International Airport recorded a high temperature of 71 degrees on Sunday, just shy of the daily record low maximum temperature of 69 degrees set in 1988.
