On Monday, September 16, Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 continued to move toward the North and South Carolina coasts, producing gusty winds and localized heavy rain. Flood watches and lake wind advisories were issued for portions of the Midlands. The National Weather Service station at the Florence Regional Airport recorded multiple wind gusts up to 45 mph. By Tuesday morning, four to six inches of rain had fallen in portions of Darlington, Florence, and Marion counties, while just across the state line, over a foot of rain was measured in Southport, North Carolina. As the system's center moved onshore, it weakened and slowly tracked to the northwest, though some lingering showers were observed across the Piedmont and Upstate.
An upper-level low remained over the area on Wednesday and Thursday, producing mostly cloudy skies, scattered afternoon showers, and thunderstorms. Low temperatures on both days were in the mid- to upper 60s, with high temperatures reaching the upper 70s to mid-80s. High pressure built into the region on Friday, bringing drier air, and a warming trend that persisted through the rest of the period. Temperatures were well above average across the Midlands and Upstate Sunday afternoon, with maximum temperatures ten to fifteen degrees above normal. The NWS station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport recorded a high of 96 degrees, and the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport reported a high of 93 degrees, which tied the daily record high temperature set in 2022.
During the full moon and king tide cycle, the tidal levels at the Charleston Harbor gauge ranged between 7.22 and 7.86 feet MLLW from Wednesday through Sunday, causing minor to moderate saltwater flooding in low-lying coastal areas.
(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 | 0.67 | 36.67 | 2.5 |
| Greer Airport | 1.49 | 38.63 | 2.1 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 3.42 | 39.92 | 7.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.12 | 40.12 | 5.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.30 | 36.84 | -1.9 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.16 | 33.73 | -0.3 |
| Florence Airport | 4.02 | 40.41 | 5.8 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.18 | 43.00 | 6.7 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.24 | 45.78 | 5.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.05 | 45.07 | 7.4 |
| *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: 77 degrees. Barnwell: 74 degrees. Mullins: 70 degrees.
At the beginning of the period, Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 (PTC 8) produced heavy rain across portions of the Pee Dee region of the state. Multiple stations in Darlington, Florence, and Marion counties measured between four and six inches from the system, while locations near the Charlotte Metropolitan Area recorded between two and four inches of rain. Areas outside the region impacted by PTC 8 reported less than an inch of rain, with some parts of the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) recording less than a quarter of an inch of rain.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, September 19, continued to reflect the drier-than-normal conditions across portions of the state. With the continued lack of beneficial rain in the Upstate, severe drought (D2) conditions extended across Anderson County and into portions of Greenwood and McCormick counties. Moderate drought (D1) conditions were expanded to include most of the CSRA, the Midlands, and parts of the interior Lowcountry. The abnormally dry (D0) conditions in parts of the Pee Dee region were removed due to rainfall from PTC 8 but remained in the Lowcountry.
Rainfall from PTC 8 caused the 14-day average streamflow values at most of the gauges across the Catawba and Pee Dee watersheds to report values that were above normal to much above normal, including the gauge at Black Creek near Hartsville and the Catawba River below Catawba. With over a foot of rain falling in the North Carolina portion of the Waccamaw River Basin, flows increased at the gauge on the Waccamaw at Longs. However, due to the persistent dry conditions during the past few periods and missing out on beneficial rains from PTC8, most of the gauges along the streams and tributaries of the Upper Savannah River continued to drop, recording much below-average flows. River height gauges in parts of the Pee Dee region rose into the action and minor flood stage at the end of the period, while other gauges across the state recorded heights below action stages. However, the tidal gauge where? recorded heights in the minor and moderate flood stages throughout the period.
