The main weather story for the period was the dry conditions and warming trend throughout the second half of the work week, which continued into the weekend. On Monday, October 23, high pressure centered over the eastern Ohio River Valley built into the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. With drier air in place, morning low temperatures were up to ten degrees below normal, with the mid-40s in the Upstate to the lower 50s closer to the coast. Under sunny skies, temperatures rose into the lower 70s by mid-afternoon, slightly cooler than normal. Radiational cooling caused temperatures to fall into the mid to upper 30s on Tuesday morning, including 37 degrees reported at the National Weather Service stations at the Florence Regional Airport and near Hartsville. Temperatures rebounded Tuesday afternoon into the mid to upper 70s.
By mid-week, there was an enhanced risk of rip currents along the East Coast due to the swells from Hurricane Tammy, which was located well offshore of the South Carolina coast. High pressure was still in control of the weather pattern, providing sunny skies and dry conditions. Despite the cooler mornings, the warming trend began, and above-normal temperatures were reported throughout the rest of the period. High temperatures were ten to fifteen degrees warmer than normal, with maximum temperatures reaching the upper 70s to mid-80s. On Sunday, October 29, the NWS station at the Charleston International Airport recorded a high of 85 degrees, which tied the daily maximum temperature record set in 1946.
The Charleston Harbor Tidal Gauge recorded high astronomical tides ranging between 7.13 feet and 7.86 feet MLLW starting on Friday, which lasted through Sunday. The King Tides caused shallow to moderate flooding in low-lying coastal areas, and there were reports of flooding in downtown Charleston along Lockwood Avenue, Broad Street, South Market Street, Church Street, and State Street.
(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 | 41.22 | 3.1 |
| Greer Airport | 0.00 | 45.94 | 4.9 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 37.37 | 0.8 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.00 | 47.55 | 8.9 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.00 | 52.12 | 8.7 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 56.38 | 19.0 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 40.68 | 1.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.00 | 36.12 | -5.7 | Charleston Air Force Base | Trace | 45.94 | -0.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | Trace | 36.33 | -6.0 |
| *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: 69 degrees. Barnwell: 62 degrees. Mullins: 68 degrees.
Most of the National Weather Service and CoCoRaHS observers reported no rainfall during the period, and a limited number of stations recorded totals of less than a tenth of an inch of precipitation. Based on current precipitation deficits and other indicators, including soil moisture and streamflow, severe drought (D2) conditions were introduced into northern portions of Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Moderate drought (D1) and abnormally dry (D0) conditions persisted across most of the Upstate, northern Midlands, and the Pee Dee on the US Drought Monitor (USDM) map released on October 26. The lack of rainfall led to moderate drought (D1) conditions expanding into Darlington, Kershaw, and Lee counties.
The 14-day average streamflow values continued to show decreased flows, especially at gauges in the Broad, Catawba, Pee Dee, Saluda, and Upper Savannah river basins, which dropped to much below normal values. A few of the gauges in the ACE River Basin reported 14-day average streamflow values within the normal range due to rainfall from a previous period. While the river height gauges across the state reported levels below flood stage, tidal gauges reached moderate heights on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday due to astronomically high tides.
