The King Tide and coastal flooding events from the previous period continued during the first part of the week. On Monday, November 8, the Charleston Harbor tidal gauge recorded a value of 8.26 ft. mean lower low water (MLLW). Significant coastal flooding was reported across the South Carolina coast, making many low-lying areas and roads impassable. The gauge recorded 7.79 ft MLLW on late Tuesday morning and 7.17 ft MLLW on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite the chilly start to the mornings, with lows from the upper 20s to the upper 40s, a warm high pressure controlled the weather for the first part of the period. Daytime maximum temperatures rose to the mid-70s and lower 80s, values between ten and fifteen degrees above normal, though much of the period. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport recorded a high of 78 degrees, which just shy of tying the daily high record temperature of 80 degrees set in 2006.
As a cold front pushed through the state on Thursday, the increased moisture triggered some showers and thunderstorms during the late afternoon. The bulk of the rain came overnight, and by Friday morning, the front had cleared the state. Rainfall totals ranged from less than a quarter of an inch in the Pee Dee to over an inch in isolated portions of the Upstate. Drier air funneled into the region behind the front, providing a day of near-normal temperatures before the weather turned colder due to a second cold front that moved through the area on Saturday. Temperatures on Sunday morning were in the mid-20s to lower 30s in the northern Midlands, Piedmont, and Upstate, ending the growing season at many locations. In the Lowcountry and Pee Dee, many sites recorded lows in the upper 30s, with light frost conditions. The high pressure settled over the state, keeping temperatures below normal, in the upper 50s to mid-60s, through the beginning of the next work week.
(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 | 0.76 | 43.38 | 3.5 |
| Greer Airport | 0.81 | 45.96 | 3.0 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.55 | 33.24 | -5.0 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.11 | 43.64 | 3.6 |
| Orangeburg Airport | Trace | 36.38M | -2.6M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.16 | 49.06 | 10.3 |
| Florence Airport | Trace | 38.70 | -1.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.24 | 42.37 | -1.3 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.04 | 55.32 | 7.6 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.05 | 47.89M | 4.3M |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 53 degrees. Columbia: 61 degrees. Barnwell: 54 degrees. Mullins: 50 degrees.
The only appreciable rainfall occurred when a cold front moved through the state on Thursday and Friday. Areas north and west of the Fall Line recorded the highest rainfall totals during the period, with many locations recording between half an inch and an inch and a half of rain. Elsewhere, less than a third of an inch was reported during the period. Many sites in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee measured less than a tenth of an inch of rain. The rain in the Upstate and Piedmont helped curb the expansion of dry conditions in the region. However, the overall rainfall deficits from September and October continue, and the lack of rains worsened the abnormally dry conditions in the Pee Dee region. Some locations were experiencing moderate drought conditions.
The weeks of below normal rainfall caused some gauges to report below-normal flows in the Pee Dee watershed, especially along the streams and tributaries of the Great Pee Dee River. Areas that received rainfall at the end of the workweek recorded slight improvement in streamflow values, but the flows were still on the lower end of normal for the beginning of November. Across the ACE Basin and in the upper Broad and Santee watersheds, streams and rivers continued to record average streamflow values for this time of year. All of the rivers in the state recorded heights below the flood stage during the period.
