On Monday, October 21, high pressure centered over the Eastern US kept conditions dry, with slightly below-normal overnight temperatures and normal to above-normal maximum temperatures through the first half of the period. Morning low temperatures were five to ten degrees below normal on Monday, ranging from the low to mid-30s in parts of the Upstate and Midlands, with the rest of the state reporting lows in the 40s. Minimum temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday were not as cool, with lows in the mid-40s to upper 50s. However, daytime highs through the middle of the week were five to ten degrees above normal, reaching the upper 70s to low 80s. On Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Greenville Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) tied its daily record high temperature of 81 degrees, set in 2007 and 2020.
A weak, dry cold front pushed through the state on Thursday, and winds shifted out of the north as high pressure built in over the Mid-Atlantic behind the front. Unfortunately, the front provided no cool air, and temperatures continued to be above normal through Saturday afternoon. The NWS GSP station set new record high temperatures on Friday and Saturday, with a new daily record high of 81 degrees on Friday, breaking the record of 80 degrees set in 1984, and 86 degrees on Saturday, breaking the 1963 record of 84 degrees. The NWS station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport set a new daily record high of 88 degrees on Saturday, breaking the previous record of 87 degrees in 1974 and 2014, and the NWS Charleston International Airport station tied the record 87 degrees on Saturday, set in 1939.
Late Saturday evening, a stronger cold front moved through the state, producing the first measurable rain since Tropical Cyclone Helene in many Upstate and northern Midlands locations. A few places in Greenville, Lee, Marlboro, and York counties recorded more than half an inch of rain by Sunday morning. Cooler and overcast conditions were observed on Sunday after the cold front's passage, with high temperatures of five to ten degrees cooler than normal, with maximum temperatures only reaching the low to mid-60s across most of the state.
(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 | Trace | 46.09 | 8.3 |
| Greer Airport | 0.38 | 47.64 | 6.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.19 | 45.74 | 9.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | Trace | 45.72 | 7.3 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.00 | 41.03 | -2.3 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 39.38 | 2.1 |
| Florence Airport | 0.01 | 43.47 | 4.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.08 | 43.86 | 2.2 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 47.86 | 1.7 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 49.28 | 7.1 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 71 degrees. Barnwell: 66 degrees. Mullins: 68 degrees.
Areas north of the Interstate 26 corridor and isolated parts of the Upper Savannah recorded the only measurable rainfall during the period. Most locations in these two portions of the state reported less than a quarter of an inch of rain, but a few isolated areas measured between half an inch and an inch of rain. Due to the continued lack of beneficial rainfall, abnormally dry (D0) conditions expanded into coastal portions of the Pee Dee, while moderate drought (D1) conditions were introduced into areas of the Coastal Plain, as reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, October 24.
With minimal measurable precipitation observed over previous periods, the 14-day average streamflow values at most of the gauges across the state's watersheds continued to report normal streamflow for this time of year. A handful of the Coastal Plain gauges reported slightly above-average flows, including the streamflow gauges at the Savannah River near Burton's Ferry and the Santee River at Pineville. River height gauges remained below the action stage across the state, and the king tide caused the tidal gauges to reach minor to moderate flood stage early in the period.
