High pressure continued to dominate the weather pattern on Monday, September 4 and would prevail through the middle of the week, providing quiet weather and drier conditions. Slightly above-average maximum temperatures were observed through Wednesday, with highs in the low to mid-90s. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport measured a new daily record high temperature of 95 degrees on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 94 degrees set in 2019. However, due to the dry air, overnight temperatures were between five and ten degrees below normal, with minimum temperatures ranging from the low to mid-60s, especially in the Midlands and Upstate.
By late Wednesday, the high pressure began to break ahead of a cold front approaching the region. Temperatures remained warm, with the NWS station at the Charleston International Airport setting a new daily record high temperature of 96 degrees, breaking the previous record of 95 degrees set in 2019. Strong to severe thunderstorms impacted the Midlands and Upstate on Thursday afternoon as the front pushed into the state and stalled. Storm spotter reported ping-ball-sized hail near Coronaca in Greenwood County and golf-ball-sized hail near Boiling Springs in Spartanburg County. Thunderstorm wind damage was reported in Edgefield, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, and Newberry counties, with a wind gust of 45 mph measured at the NWS station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
The front stalled over the region on Friday and, with the help of an upper-level low, increased moisture and an unsettled weather pattern would be the story through the weekend. The temperatures returned to near-normal values for the beginning of September, with high temperatures in the low to mid-80s and overnight lows in the mid-60s to low 70s. The sea breeze interacted with the stalled front on Sunday, September 10, producing heavy rain in Charleston and Beaufort counties.
In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Lee formed in the eastern Atlantic on Tuesday and strengthened into a major hurricane by Thursday afternoon. The storm would continue to move to the west and northwest during the period. Tropical Storm Margot formed near Cape Verde Island on Thursday and would remain out to sea.
(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 | 0.66 | 39.48 | 6.8 |
| Greer Airport | 0.19 | 44.61 | 9.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.48 | 35.99 | 5.0 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 1.98 | 43.48 | 10.5 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.06 | 46.60 | 9.6 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.71 | 47.48 | 14.9 |
| Florence Airport | 0.96 | 38.38 | 5.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.71 | 31.18 | -2.5 | Charleston Air Force Base | 2.62 | 38.14 | -0.1 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.58 | 33.32 | -2.7 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 75 degrees. Columbia: 78 degrees. Barnwell: 73 degrees. Mullins: 72 degrees.
The start of the period was dry, until a stalled front contributed to some heavy rain across portions of the central Midlands and Upstate. In these areas, rainfall totals ranged from half an inch to an inch and a half, though some isolated areas recorded higher totals. Some CoCoRaHS observers in Lexington County reported totals up to two inches, and a few observers in northern Oconee County measured over four inches of rain. Elsewhere, areas like the northern Midlands and some parts of the lower Savannah River area recorded less than half an inch of rain. The US Drought Monitor (USDM) released on September 7 depicted improvements in the areas of the Midlands and Pee Dee regions that had been experiencing abnormally dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) conditions. D0 conditions remained in Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Lancaster, Lexington, Newberry, Saluda, and York counties and had expanded into Greenwood, Laurens, and Union counties.
While the precipitation was not widespread, streamflow gauges continued to report increased flows due to the isolated heavy rain during the period and as rain from Idalia continued to move through the watersheds. Gauges in the Coastal Plain recorded much above average values, including the gauges along the South Fork of the Edisto and at the Edisto River near Givhans Ferry. Two gauges in the Pee Dee recorded high streamflow values: the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry and the Waccamaw River near Conway. Rain across the Midlands helped increase streamflow values at the Catawba River at Rock Hill and Rocky Creek at Great Falls gauges, which reported below-average flows during the previous period. River height values in the Coastal Plain slowly declined from moderate and minor flood stage, while the Waccamaw River near Conway was forecasted to crest in moderate flood stage. Tidal gauge along the South Carolina Coast reported levels below flood stage.
