A quiet start to the period on Monday, September 6, as a weak cold front moved through the state and stalled over the region through midweek. With this boundary in place, there was an increased chance of scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Temperatures ranged from lows in the upper 60s to low 70s to highs in the upper 80s to mid-80s. An early morning waterspout was reported off of Sullivan’s Island on Wednesday. Ample moisture streaming into the region and instability from the front lingering over the state caused strong thunderstorms to develop and quarter-sized hail was observed from a thunderstorm near Elgin in Lancaster County.
On Wednesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Mindy formed in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and made landfall near St. Vincent Island, Florida. Thunderstorms associated with Mindy produced wind gusts up to 45 mph, and lightning sparked a fire that damaged two structures in Beaufort. The storm moved across the Florida Panhandle into southeastern Georgia, bringing heavy rain to portions of the Lowcountry overnight. The highest 24-hour rainfall totals ending Thursday morning from Mindy were mainly confined to Beaufort County. On Thursday, Mindy moved off the southeast coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. Heavy rain remained over the Coastal Plain, dropping an additional two to four inches over coastal Beaufort, Charleston, and Colleton counties. The torrential rain combined with a high tide of 7.23 ft. MLLW caused flooding in downtown Charleston.
As Mindy moved away from the region, another cold front pushed through the state, triggering additional showers in the Upstate and Midlands. On Friday, high pressure built over the area, ushering another shot of dry air and seasonable weather for the weekend. Lows on Friday morning were between five and ten degrees below normal, with thermometers around the state registering in the upper 50s to low 60s. Under clear skies, the daytime temperatures reached the mid-80s. Saturday and Sunday were carbon copies of Friday; however, smoke from wildfires in the western United States moved into the region late on Sunday, producing hazy skies and a vibrant sunset.
(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 | 0.47 | 30.92 | -2.0 |
| Greer Airport | 0.70 | 38.55 | 3.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.09 | 30.49 | -0.8 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.89 | 38.84 | 5.6 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.94 | 32.39M | 0.3M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.80 | 42.66 | 9.8 |
| Florence Airport | 0.46 | 35.70 | 2.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.14 | 38.97 | 4.8 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 1.75 | 44.53 | 5.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.99 | 33.85M | -2.5M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 77 degrees. Columbia: 76 degrees. Barnwell: 71 degrees. Mullins: 60 degrees.
The most significant rain event during the period was the mid-week passage of Tropical Storm Mindy. Two-day totals from the storm ranged from two to six inches across portions of the Lowcountry. The rain was a welcome reprieve, helping to temper some of the abnormally dry conditions that had started to develop after a few weeks of little rainfall in the area. Portions of the Pee Dee received up to two inches of rain from Mindy, while the Midlands and Upstate missed out on the beneficial rain. Cold fronts at the beginning of the period and the end of the workweek produced isolated showers and thunderstorms across the state.
During the period, many streamflow gauges recorded streamflow values near normal. Gauges along streams and tributaries that received rain from Tropical Storm Mindy and isolated storms reported streamflow values slightly above normal. With another week of limited rainfall across much of the state, some gauges recorded streamflow values slightly below normal, including the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry and the Saluda River at Chappells. Most of the rivers in the state recorded heights below the flood stage during the period.
