A weak surface trough that was stationary over the area on Monday, September 11, produced an unsettled weather pattern through the middle of the week. A few strong storms caused minor wind damage in Dorchester County near Canadys and Saint George on Monday, and thunderstorm winds knocked down trees in Anderson, Greenville, Laurens, Union, and York counties on Tuesday. Severe storms produced penny-sized hail, reported near Green Pond in Colleton County on Wednesday. Temperatures were slightly warmer than average, with high temperatures in the low to mid-90s. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station recorded a maximum temperature of 95 degrees on Tuesday, which tied the daily record set in 1991.
By Thursday, September 14, a cold front had moved through the state and shifted offshore, causing some isolated showers and thunderstorms across the Coastal Plain. Despite Hurricane Lee passing well offshore of the coast, high surf conditions and dangerous rip currents were reported along South Carolina beaches. Coastal waters were impacted through the remainder of the period. Behind the front, high pressure moved into the area on Friday, with drier conditions and mostly sunny skies. Temperatures were at least five degrees cooler than normal, with overnight temperatures in the 50s to mid-60s and high temperatures ranging from the upper 70s to low 80s.
On Sunday, a deep mid-level trough moved through the region, causing widespread showers across the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Pee Dee regions. Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Columbia in Richland County, and rainfall between two and five inches fell in Charleston, producing standing water on low-lying roads across the city.
(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 | 0.49 | 39.97 | 6.4 |
| Greer Airport | 0.53 | 45.14 | 9.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.40 | 36.39 | 4.5 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 2.45 | 45.93 | 12.0 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.78 | 47.38 | 9.4 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 3.87 | 51.35 | 17.9 |
| Florence Airport | 0.62 | 39.00 | 5.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.86 | 33.04 | -2.3 | Charleston Air Force Base | 5.12 | 43.32 | 3.7 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 1.62 | 34.94 | -2.1 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 73 degrees. Columbia: 78 degrees. Barnwell: 71 degrees. Mullins: 66 degrees.
Some CoCoRaHS observers in Charleston County reported totals up to five inches, with most of the rain falling on Sunday afternoon. A few observers in Aiken and Lexington counties measured seven-day totals of over three inches of rain. Most rainfall totals reported in the Upstate and near the Charlotte Metropolitan Area were less than an inch. However, some isolated totals of up to 1.50 inches were measured in locations north of Interstate 85. The US Drought Monitor (USDM) released on September 14 depicted lingering areas of abnormally dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) conditions in portions of the Midlands and Upstate.
Drier conditions recorded across the Midlands and Upstate allowed streamflow values to fall within the normal range. However, some gauges reported streamflow values below normal, especially in the upper Broad and Saluda River basins. With most of the precipitation during the period falling south and east of the Interstate 20 corridor, many of the streamflow gauges across the Coastal Plain continued reporting streamflow values that were above average. The Waccamaw River near Conway crested within the moderate flood stage and slowly dropped to the minor flood stage. Tidal gauges along the South Carolina coast reported levels below flood stage.
