Monday, October 11, was the last day in the most recent King Tide cycle. The Charleston Harbor tidal gauge recorded a tide of 7.38 ft MLLW around noon, and low-lying areas along the South Carolina coast experienced shallow coastal flooding. A low-pressure system along the NC coast moved away from the region, and high pressure over the Mid-Atlantic region extended into the area. High temperatures in the mid-70s were slightly cooler than normal on Monday, while minimum temperatures in the mid to upper 60s were up to ten degrees warmer than normal.
Fair and dry conditions dominated the weather throughout most of the period. A controlling high pressure produced warm weather through much of the period, with low temperatures and high temperatures at least ten degrees above normal. Morning temperatures climbed out of the 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday into the upper 70s to mid-80s by the afternoon. The National Weather Service (NWS) station located near Caesars Head in Greenville County, with an elevation of roughly 3,200 feet, tied the daily high minimum temperature on Thursday of 60 degrees, set back in 1989.
By Friday, October 15, a welcomed cold front was positioned to the west of the region, but it would be Sunday before it provided relief from the unseasonably warm temperatures. Stations across the state recorded high and low temperatures between ten and fifteen degrees warmer than normal. The NWS Station at the University of South Carolina in Richland County set a new record daily high temperature of 92 degrees on Friday, breaking the previous record of 91 degrees, set back in 1985. On Saturday, the NWS station at Florence Regional Airport broke the daily high-temperature record by three degrees, reaching 91 degrees. The previous record was 88 degrees, set in 2018.
As the cold front pushed through the state on Saturday evening, it produced strong winds, prompting the issuance of lake wind advisories in the Midlands. The NWS stations at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport and Orangeburg Municipal Airport recorded maximum wind gusts of 25 mph. Sunday morning ushered in a break from the warmer than normal temperatures as a much cooler air mass settled into the area. Lows ranged from the upper 30s to upper 40s across the state, with high temperatures around 70 degrees. The dry conditions and slightly cooler than normal temperatures persisted into the new workweek.
(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 | 0.00 | 41.71 | 4.7 |
| Greer Airport | 0.00 | 43.88 | 4.1 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 32.07 | -3.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.00 | 42.92 | 5.3 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.00 | 36.38M | -0.3M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 48.24 | 11.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 37.80 | -0.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.01 | 40.51 | 0.0 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 53.27 | 8.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 43.49M | 2.2M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 64 degrees. Columbia: 69 degrees. Barnwell: 65 degrees. Mullins: 57 degrees.
There was a general lack of precipitation during the week, with only a few reports of scattered rain associated with the passage of the cold front Saturday into Sunday. Most of the state recorded no rain, and only a few isolated totals between 0.05 and 0.10 inches were recorded, mainly near the coast. The lack of rain exacerbated the current abnormally dry conditions near the Rock Hill/Fort Mill area and the Pee Dee interior.
During the period, streamflow values varied along the streams and tributaries of the state's rivers. The Upper Santee and Savannah gauges measured much above normal flows due to the heavy rain that fell during the previous period. Controlled water releases were scheduled along the central Savannah River, creating increased flows and higher river stage heights on the river south of Augusta. Elsewhere, the continued lack of rain in the Midlands and Pee Dee caused some gauges to report below normal flows. Most of the rivers in the state recorded heights below the flood stage during the period.
